History tells us nobody is untouchable under Pep Guardiola. He took charge at Barcelona in 2008 and, on his first day, announced: ‘These three are not in my mind for the future; in fact, we will be going onwards without them.’
The three players in question were Ronaldinho, Deco and Samuel Eto’o. Guardiola will go down as one of the game’s great coaches but never under-estimate the ruthlessness that goes with his tactical mastery. They go hand in hand.
It doesn’t matter how big your name is, or what you’ve done for the club.