Guardiola has revealed that Koeman shaped his way of looking at defenders.

Back in 2016, ahead of Manchester City's away game against Everton, then coached by Ronald Koeman, Pep Guardiola opened up on his relationship with the Dutchman. He revealed that Koeman changed the way he viewed defenders.

"He wasn't just my roommate, he was so generous," the Daily Mail quote Guardiola saying. "Not only on the pitch but off it too. I learned a lot just by looking at him.

"He was one of the first defenders who didn't just defend. He was one of the few guys who I saw never missed (struggle in) an important game.

"The amazing long balls. The quick balls. One of the best central defenders of all time.

"I've played against different styles, different ways of trying to beat us. In Barcelona, we were a very good team but we didn't cross many times, we used to attack through the middle."


The duo played together for five seasons at Barcelona. Later on, the Dutchman returned to the club as an assistant coach and worked with the Catalan for another two years.

In total, Koeman played three games against Guardiola, winning one (4-0) and drawing two (both 1-1).