Gary Lineker has compared Pep Guardiola to a current player in world football while harking back to his days on the pitch.
Considering Guardiola’s career at the very top ended in 2001 when he left Barcelona, perhaps many have not watched him play.
However, the now-Manchester City boss had a career to be proud of as a player.
During his time at Barcelona, the decorated coach won six league titles, one European Cup and two Copa Del Rey trophies amongst several pieces of silverware.
Pep Guardiola was a defensive midfielder.
Perhaps that is why he has been able to elevate the standard of sitting midfielders like Fernandinho and Rodri as a manager.
Lineker says Guardiola used to play like a current player
During his time in Catalonia, the midfield maestro was considered one of the best in the world in his position.
However, Guardiola was not a destroyer.
The Spaniard was not a sitting midfielder in the mould of Chelsea legend Claude Makelele.
Guardiola would dictate the game from deeper areas, like how Rodri does for City nowadays.
The Barcelona icon was the style of defensive midfielder that has been associated with his club ever since his exit.
Having won trophies galore and performed at the highest level, the £378,846-a-week man is not just considered a legendary manager but also an icon as a player.
When quizzed about how Pep Guardiola was as a player, Gary Lineker likened him to Inter Miami midfielder Sergio Busquets.
“He was a holding midfield player. Cerebral, as you’d expect. A little bit like a [Sergio] Busquets, probably not quite as good, Xabi Alonso”, he said on The Rest Is Football podcast.
Goes to show how outstanding Pep Guardiola was as a player
Even if Pep Guardiola was not at the level Sergio Busquets was as a player, as Gary Lineker stated, that is still a huge compliment to him.
Busquets is widely considered the greatest defensive midfielder to have graced the game and if Guardiola is viewed as even comparable to him, that goes to show how tremendous a player he was.
The World Cup winner is even named amongst the best midfielders in the history of football, irrespective of position.
Such was his dominance at club and international level.
Having worked with Sergio Busquets closely, Pep Guardiola would likely be flattered to hear his name mentioned in the same breath as him as a player by Gary Lineker.
