Andre Pirlo says he has regrets about being unable to join Barcelona when Pep Guardiola tried to sign him in 2010.

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His then club AC Milan didn’t accept an offer from the Catalan side as they understandably didn’t want to lose their star midfielder, but it’s something the former Italy international still thinks about.

"Pep’s the No.1 coach [in the world] without a doubt," the New York City player said in an interview with Marca. “Look at what he did with Barcelona and then Bayern Munich.

“Above all, he's a person I've had the pleasure of knowing. I admire and respect him. We speak quite often now, because we have mutual friends in Brescia."

“How did I feel when he wanted to sign me? How could you not want to go [to Barcelona]?

“We were facing the best team in the world [in a preseason friendly at Camp Nou] and he told me he wanted me in the team. He met me in his office after the game, we spoke for a long time.”



Pirlo did eventually leave Milan, but for Juventus, nor Barcelona, and he went on to enjoy several more years of success in Turin.