Pep's Secret Manc Mansion
There’s a fascinating story in Pep's City: The Making of a Superteam by Pol Ballus and Lu Martin.
In the early hours of 16 March 2016, City’s Director of Football Txiki Begiristain sent David Quintana, then in charge of player care, on a secret mission.
"Go to Munich, but tell no one," Begiristain ordered him. "It seems we have a problem with 'The German'."
It was a code word for Pep Guardiola, who was then manager of Bayern Munich. Pep had first visited City's training ground during an international break earlier that month. But only CEO Ferran Soriano, Begiristain, his right-hand man Joan Patsy, his secretary Amaia Diaz, and Quintana had known he was there.
In Munich, the Guardiola family lived in a spacious mansion on Sophienstrasse. Pep demanded similar accommodation in Manchester, and the issue was in danger of becoming a deal-breaker.
Quintana and Pep met over a three-hour lunch in a Vietnamese restaurant where they discussed the club's organisation, infrastructure and players. But the issue of Guardiola's new home remained unresolved.
An anxious Begiristain demanded a full debrief on Quintana's return.
"So, what did you tell him?"
"The plain truth: that there basically isn't anything like that in Manchester"
The problem was that Pep was refusing to live anywhere but a city centre mansion.
Begiristain could see all his plans going up in smoke. The deal to bring Pep to City was under threat. Quintana, though, was still upbeat.
"I just told him, 'No worries; if we have to, we'll build you what you want. It might take a few more months, but we'll make it happen.'"
And so it was that Guardiola's family ended up renting a luxury apartment in the Deansgate area of Manchester while they waited for the building work on their new home to be completed. It took a little longer than predicted, but eventually they were able to move in.
Wait…what? So Pep lives in a secret city centre mansion?
Now I'm imagining a secret underground tunnel linking it to Tast, the Catalan restaurant he owns on King Street. Who knows, maybe there's a whole network of underground tunnels linking his secret mansion to the Ethiad and Manchester Airport via high-speed monorail? Let's face it, if he'd asked for it, they probably would have built it for him.
I'd like to imagine Pep's secret mansion containing a fairground, a space observatory, and a giant aquarium full of sharks with frickin’ lasers. But then again, with Pep's family now living in Barcelona, I can also imagine thirty giant unused rooms, and the floor of the one room that was in use, the bedroom, being strewn with empty bottles of Prime and discarded take-away trays.
So now it's competition time: Place an 'X' where you think Pep's secret Manc mansion is.
The winner will get a visit from City’s Head of Security.
On Saturday I’ll be posting a lengthy piece called 1894 Explained. It will contain new evidence and, I hope, will answer all your questions about the events of that year.
The best way to make sure you don’t miss anything is to subscribe for free below and have stories sent straight to your inbox. Paywalls, like any sort of wall, keep people out. I want very much to keep this work available to everyone but I also need to make a living. If you can, please consider supporting my work with one of the voluntary subscription options.
You can also follow me on Twitter here.