Guardiola reveals which Prem club he wrote to to join

Matt Stead

Pep Guardiola says that he once contacted Sir Bobby Robson in an attempt to join Newcastle.

Guardiola made the admission for an upcoming film on Robson, who he worked with at Barcelona.

The Manchester City manager says he wrote a letter to the legendary boss to try and realise one of his “dreams” of playing in the Premier League.

Robson replied to say he unfortunately had too much “quality” to sign the Spaniard – an honest response that Guardiola says summed up the icon.

“I am going to explain something secret,” he said in the film, ‘Bobby Robson: More Than A Manager’, which will be aired in select theatres on June 1.

“After the purge in Barcelona, he went to Newcastle and I sent him a letter to offer me the chance to go to him and play at Newcastle. One of my dreams would have been to have played in England.

“He answered me and said it was not possible because he had a lot of ­quality and he was right, but, even in that tough moment, he was always so kind.

“He wrote a simple letter and it was like it meant so much more. Bobby is one of the nicest people I have ever met in my life.”