Pep Guardiola is one of the best coaches of all time, amassing 37 trophies with Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City while consistently wiping the floor with the opposition. At each of the three clubs he has coached, he has overseen a scintillating and instantly recognisable style of play, while also managing to instil an insatiable hunger in his players that has led to all three clubs winning three consecutive league titles on his watch.
Guardiola has helped his fair share of players blossom, getting the very best out of Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, Philipp Lahm, Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland, to name but a few. But for every player he has worked wonders with, there are no shortage of individuals who never took to his ultra-demanding way of working.
Kalvin Phillips is the latest high-profile player to part ways with Guardiola after failing to assimilate to the coach’s ideas. His loan move to West Ham brings a sad but inevitable end to a miserable 18-month stay with City. Having signed from Leeds United for £42m in 2022, Phillips has made just six starts in all competitions, costing an average of £7m per start and £14m per victory.
The England midfielder can, however, take solace in the fact that he is far from the only player who was hugely excited about working with Guardiola, but lived to regret ever signing for him. So where does Phillips rank among the worst signings Guardiola has ever made? GOAL has laid out the top (or bottom) 10…