Pep Guardiola has revealed that he almost joined Wigan Athletic in the twilight of his playing career but the move fell through because he was "not good enough".
A defensive midfielder in his playing days, the Manchester City manager made more than 250 appearances for Barcelona and won 47 caps for Spain.
After leaving Camp Nou in 2001, Guardiola spent two years in Italy with Brescia and Roma before playing for Qatari club Al Ahli SC.
Paul Jewell, the Wigan manager at the time, claims that he tried to recruit the then 35-year-old in 2005 after he left the Doha outfit, but the player went on to join Mexican club Dorados de Sinaloa.
"I was not good enough! That is the truth, yeah," the Spaniard told reporters ahead of Man City's FA Cup fifth-round tie at Wigan. "I was old, really old, as a football player to come here.
"I tried to come here to play in English football, like a football player, but I was not able.
"The same happened when I came here to Manchester City, with Stuart Pearce. They were so clever! They were so clever because I was not good enough!"
Man City, who currently lead the Premier League table, take on the second-placed League One side at the DW Stadium on Monday night.
Giuseppe Labellarte
