Former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola was the target of a shock bid by the Catalans' bitter rivals Real Madrid to make him their manager.
Madrid's remarkable plot to try and bring Guardiola to the Spanish capital has been revealed by the manager's friend and biographer Marti Perarnau, who says Real chief Florentino Perez wanted him to replace Rafa Benitez.
Madrid sacked Benitez in January - Zinedine Zidane taking over - but according to Perarnau it was Guardiola who Perez wanted as his first-choice candidate.
'Real Madrid called Pep Guardiola to try and tempt him last November, before they sacked Benitez,' Perarnau told Spanish radio station Cadena Ser.