Pep Guardiola Hopes to End Coaching Career Back at Barcelona

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has revealed his ambition to end his career with Barcelona. 

Guardiola began coaching with Barcelona B in 2007 before taking charge of the senior side the following year.

The Spaniard said on Universo Valdano that he hopes to go back to the Camp Nou (h/t Owen Fulda of the Daily Star): "I will finish my career where it began. My last steps will be in the youth teams—I hope at Barca. I believe it's—to start, it's the best."

Guardiola guided Barca B to the Tercera Division title, and in four years with the first team, he won La Liga three times, as well as the UEFA Champions League and Copa del Rey twice apiece.

He has since added four more league titles at Bayern Munich and Manchester City to his CV, along with other silverware, but his revolution at Barcelona remains the biggest part of his legacy.

The 47-year-old brought the likes of Sergio Busquets from Barca's academy, La Masia, into the senior side and implemented his possession-based tiki-taka style with great success, cementing his status as one of the elite coaches in football.

Sky Sports pundit Alan Smith would have enjoyed playing under him:

Last season, his City side racked up 100 points and scored 106 goals in the Premier League.

Former Barcelona striker Gary Lineker expressed his admiration for Guardiola after he oversaw a 1-0 win against Chelsea on their way to the title, though as The Times' Oliver Kay noted, the City boss has perhaps not been given enough credit in England for his achievements:

That is not the case in Barcelona, though, and they would surely welcome back the coach with open arms.

The club would likely be happy for him to take charge of the senior team for another stint, but even if he were only to return to the youth side, his tactical and technical work with the youngsters could only help the first team as the academy graduates progress through the ranks.