Guardiola's friend: CR7 once offered to Man City, but Pep wasn't interested

In the biography of Guardiola, The Pep Revolution, according to content revealed by the Daily Mail, his friend discussed how the Spanish coach refused Cristiano Ronaldo in 2021. Below is the relevant part of the article.

Today is Derby day, and Manchester City won 2-0 away against Manchester United. A few months ago, when Cristiano Ronaldo visited, Guardiola had declined to sign him, but there was a moment when Ronaldo reappeared at Old Trafford that made us understand why.

That day, Manchester United was thoroughly defeated at the Theatre of Dreams, and the Manchester Derby was finally revitalized. With the easing of pandemic restrictions, Old Trafford could once again welcome fans.

It had been 20 months since the last Derby played in front of angry fans, and on that day, the home team performed poorly while City found their stride.

City’s command of the game was something that delighted manager Guardiola. Post-match reports especially highlighted Bernardo Silva and the “free man” João Cancelo. The former tirelessly ran in the false nine position, while the latter was the key to maintaining City’s magic. Aside from providing three assists in Bruges a few nights earlier, Cancelo also delivered two assists in the match against United.

Five assists in one week—kudos to Cancelo.

It took City only six minutes to take the lead—an own goal from Bailly following a Cancelo cross. Between the 28th and 34th minutes, De Gea saved United by stopping four certain goals. It was a sky-blue hurricane.

City completely dominated their opponents, and if not for De Gea’s outstanding performance, the match could have ended in a record-breaking victory—this also explains the surprised expression on Bernardo Silva’s face and the frustration among United players when he suddenly appeared behind United's crowded defense to make it 2-0 just before halftime.

Bernardo Silva’s brilliant performance came after 26 City passes in just 86 seconds. The sequence started when Ronaldo tried to launch a counterattack but wasted his pass.

He is no longer the towering goal-scoring giant of years past. Frankly, his current form is far from that level.

That summer, he had offered himself to City, but Guardiola wasn’t interested. There’s no doubt that Guardiola respected Ronaldo’s strong goal-scoring ability and outstanding physical attributes, but how would such a player fit into the Catalan’s meticulously crafted, intricate machine?

Thank you, but no, Cristiano. Even after City tried and failed to sign Kane and buy a striker, there was still no need.