Premier League Revelation made in newspaper column

Rummenigge: Bayern Munich have never played as well as under Guardiola

Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs has declared his admiration for Pep Guardiola but also noted that the Catalan tactician almost forced him to quit the game.

Giggs admitted to being hit hard by Manchester United's Champions League final defeat to a Barcelona side coached by Guardiola in Rome in 2009.

Goals from Samuel Eto'o and Lionel Messi for an unstoppable Blaugrana outfit impacted so greatly on Giggs that he confessed to considering his future in the game.

"The first time I faced a Pep Guardiola team, I sat alone on the team coach after the game and for the first time in my playing career, I seriously thought about retiring from football," Giggs wrote in his Daily Telegraph column.

"That 2009 Champions League final was the lowest point of my 23 years as a professional footballer.

"We got it wrong that day, Barcelona got it right and as I contemplated my life at that moment, my overriding emotion was that I never wanted to feel like this again.

"If that meant ceasing to play football then - at that moment at least - so be it.

"Guardiola is certainly the best coach of his generation."