Pep Guardiola blesses appointment of "extraordinary person" Valverde

Pep Guardiola feels Ernesto Valverde is more than ready for the challenge at Barcelona. The Manchester City coach spoke about the appointment of Valverde at a golf tournament organised by the Cruyff Foundation in Montanya. 

"I'm lucky enough to have Ernesto as a very good friend and I am sure he will do really well," Guardiola said. "He's very close [to his players] and is a great manager. I wouldn't give him any advice." 

Guardiola also said that Valverde should be true to his way of understanding football: "He should be himself. I think he's proven himself in Greece and in some difficult media environments, like Valencia. Also with Athletic. He knows a lot and he's an extraordinary person."  

The former Barça boss was also asked about Real Madrid and their Champions League win. What do Barça have to do to win the continent's top prize again? 

"There aren't many things they have to do, when a team wins the Copa and fights until the end to win la Liga... Barça have been the most competitive team in the last 15 years," he said. 

"Competitive means winning each week. And in the league no-one has matched that success. In Europe, a bad afternoon can send you out. But there hasn't been a team as competitive as Barça. Because the Champions League is shorter, you can play eight good games. But La Liga is every day. For that reason there's no better team and they will return to being [the best team]."