Roman Abramovich was so keen to hire Pep Guardiola as Chelsea manager back in 2012 that he left Roberto Di Matteo waiting for almost a month after winning the Champions League before handing the Italian the job on a two-year contract.
Sources at Chelsea at the time have told ESPN FC that Abramovich had become so obsessed by Guardiola's brand of football at Barcelona that he had made it his No. 1 priority to lure the coach to Stamford Bridge.
Winning the Champions League under Di Matteo, in interim charge following the midseason dismissal of Andre Villas-Boas, was almost an inconvenient development due to the obligation to reward the former Chelsea midfielder for his success.