With the news confirmed that Pep Guardiola will leave Manchester City at the end of the season some West Ham supporters have jokingly taken to social media daring to imagine the Catalan genius rocking up at the London Stadium to mastermind a Championship title charge, should West Ham be in that league next season.
But here’s the twist, Pep actually did come close to wearing claret and blue once upon a time. And it wasn’t a rumour, a dream, it was real, it was serious, and it involved two key West Ham figures, Glen Roeder and Paul Aldridge.
Another West Ham ‘near miss’ as Hammers spurned Guardiola the player
In the early 2000s, when Pep was winding down his playing career and exploring a move to England, West Ham United were one of the clubs interested. Glen Roeder, and Paul Aldridge, the club’s managing director, planned to travel to Spain to speak with him directly.
Manager Glen Roeder – planned to recruit Guardiola the player
At the time Roeder said “Who would not be interested in a player of Guidardo’s quality? I would certainly like to speak to him.”
Pep was reportedly intrigued. He liked the project, he liked the Premier League, and he was open to the idea of finishing his career in London.
One stumbling block at the time was the players wages, believed to be £30k a week, small change these days for most players – taking into account inflation, that’s about £65k in today’s money.
For a moment, it looked like West Ham were about to pull off one of the most outrageous signings in their modern history.
Rather than push the deal over the line, the club decided to promote from within. They believed a young midfielder already at the club, none other than Michael Carrick was ready to step up and become a regular in the first team. And to be fair, as we all know, Carrick became a superb midfielder, and forged a successful career.
Roeder did however add an additional midfielder to his ranks that summer signing Don Hutchinson who joined for his second stint at the club from Sunderland.
Guardiola moved to Brescia instead
Guardiola moved to Brescia and spent some time in Serie A, also playing for Roma, before signing for Al-Ahli in Qatar. He then moved to Mexico, where he starred for Doradas yet subsequently retired after six months due to injuries.
Guardiola’s recent COYI gesture and that trademark arms‑folded stance before our clash with Arsenal could easily have been done as a West Ham player in claret and blue, had history taken a slightly different turn
From player to arguably one of the greatest managers of all time, now aged 55, his next move will be closely watched by the footballing world.
Always if and buts for us