Guardiola is one of the best coaches in the history of football. The Spaniard has had success at every club he has coached.
The former Barcelona player is known to have signed many players during his tenure. Many will call him the checkbook manager, but the truth is that Guardiola guarantees success.
But not all of Guardiola's signings have been productive.
Guardiola has signed some really good players in the past who have helped him achieve a lot of success. While it worked for the most part, there were players who didn't help his career as much.
As is the case with every coach, Guardiola is sometimes unable to identify players who fit his needs. On that note, let's take a look at some of the worst signings from the Spanish master tactician:
<h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" > #5 Martin Cáceres</h1>
Martin Cáceres started his football career in the Uruguayan league. He signed with Villarreal in 2007 but was subsequently loaned to Spanish side Huelva.
After impressing la Liga side, Cáceres caught the attention of Guardiola, who was at Barca at the time. The Catalan club signed him from Villarreal for 16.5 million euros in the summer of 2008. Due to injuries and tactical decisions, it is difficult for the Uruguayan defender to start the Spanish giants.
In his first and only season with Barcelona, he played only 13 La Liga games. He is the fourth centre-back option after Gerald Pique, Rafael Márquez and Karls Puyol. He was loaned to Juventus the following season and never played for the Spanish club again.
<h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" > #4 Nolito</h1>
The Spanish striker graduated from the Barcelona youth academy. After making two appearances for the first team, Nolito turned down a new contract for catalonia, citing concerns about playing time.
He joined Benfica in 2011 and returned to La Liga with Celta Vigo after almost two seasons with the Portuguese club. It was with them that Nolito found his best form of reunion with his former head coach Luis Enrique. In his first season, he scored 14 goals and eventually became the club's top scorer.
Over the next two seasons, he scored 25 goals and had 20 assists, prompting Guardiola to sign him to Manchester City in 2016. Sadly, Nolito failed to find a similar form in Manchester, scoring four goals in 19 appearances. The following season, the Spaniard left Manchester City to join Sevilla.
<h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" > #3 Claudio Bravo</h1>
Guardiola has managed some excellent goalkeepers during his management career, but Claudio Bravo's situation clearly does not fall into this category. The Chilean goalkeeper earned himself fame while playing for Real Sociedad in La Liga.
His excellent performance in front of the goal helped him move to Barcelona in 2014. In his two seasons at Catalan Club, he won several trophies, including the Treble in 2014-15. At one point he was considered Valdés' successor, but with the arrival of Mark-André Ter Stegen, his playing time was affected.
In 2016, Guardiola successfully signed Claudio Bravo. The transfer fee is €18 million. The signing didn't live up to expectations as the Chilean made some mistakes and conceded some stupid goals during his time at Manchester City.
Guardiola was very supportive of him and Bravo failed to recover his excellent form and had to play regularly as a substitute. He joined Royal Betis in 2020 and has been with them ever since.
<h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" > #2 Alexander Hleb</h1>
One of wenger's most underrated players was Alexander Hleb. The Belarusian midfielder was signed from Stuttgart in 2005 to play for Arsenal in the Premier League.
He has played in different positions but is often on the right wing. His quick and sharp passing, coupled with some nimble steps, was very useful for the Gunners. Hleb worked well with his striker teammates and demonstrated his ability to integrate other players into the game.
This attracted Guardiola to sign him at Barcelona in the summer of 2008. While it looked like a perfect transfer, the move didn't turn out well for the Belarusian.
He had a hard time getting into the starting eleven list and couldn't take advantage of the limited opportunities he had. It was a wasted talent and unfortunately after Barcelona, Hleb could no longer reach his peak form.
<h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" > #1 Dimitro Chigrinski</h1>
With Guardiola at the helm, Barcelona are hoping to sign a capable centre-back in the summer of 2009. At that time, Chigrinsky performed miracles during the Donetsk miners in the Ukrainian league.
With his strong and tall physique, coupled with his aerial abilities and skills, it seems that Chigrinski is the perfect player for Pep Guardiola's style of football. The Ukrainian centre-back was signed by Barcelona in 2009 for around €25 million. Although the Catalan club won the Spanish league title that season, the Ukrainian struggled to find his place in Spain.
He made 12 appearances in La Liga but was unable to comfortably find his rhythm in the backfield. Guardiola was eager to keep him, but the club decided to sell him back to the Donetsk miners for around €15 million next season. This resulted in the Spanish giants losing 10 million euros in one season.