Guardiola and Cristiano Ronaldo were involved in sharp rivalries from 2009-2012. This is because at that time Josep Guardiola handled Barcelona, while Cristiano Ronaldo was in the Real Madrid uniform.
Since Barcelona and Real Madrid are in the same competition in the Spanish League, their meeting occurs every season. In fact, not only in the Spanish League, the two of them also often met in the Champions League, for example in the semifinals of the 2010-2011 edition.
The Barcelona vs Madrid match, which received the title El Clasico, shows how great the prestige of this match is. Guardiola, who had previously been a Barcelona main player from 1990-2001, fully understands the meaning of El Clasico itself.
This made Guardiola reluctant to touch the figure in Madrid. His condition worsened when Real Madrid was handled by a controversial coach, Jose Mourinho, from 2010-2013.
Mourinho, who is known for his fondness for confrontation, made Guardiola have to act quickly so that his players do not get incitement from the Portuguese coach. The player who really gets extra guard from Guardiola is Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi.
The heat was apparently also taken by Guardiola off the field. On January 7, 2013, FIFA held the 2012 FIFA Ballon d’Or award. The award will announce the player who won the FIFA Ballon d’Or trophy, plus the 2012 edition of the best coach.
Since Guardiola was included in the 2012 edition of the best coach candidate along with Vicente del Bosque (Spanish national team) and Jose Mourinho, the Spanish tactician was on site. Apparently, Guardiola arrived earlier than Cristiano Ronaldo, who was nominated for the 2012 FIFA Ballon d’Or trophy.
At that time, Cristiano Ronaldo, who was looking for his seat to occupy, accidentally saw Guardiola in front of him. Suddenly, Cristiano Ronaldo immediately touched Guardiola’s shoulder and reached out to the Spanish coach.
However, Guardiola immediately turned around as if he refused to shake Cristiano Ronaldo’s hand. As a result, Cristiano Ronaldo was confused by the feedback from Guardiola.
Since then, the relationship between Guardiola and Cristiano Ronaldo has continued to heat up. Even on one occasion, Guardiola said his foster son at Man City, Bernardo Silva, was Portugal’s best footballer, a sign that he played down the quality of Cristiano Ronaldo.
