Real Madrid legend Guti Hernandez has said that he is not opposed to managing Barcelona one day, iterating that he is available.
During an appearance at a La Liga Ambassadors Gala, Guti Hernandez has claimed, as quoted by Spanish publication Mundo Deportivo, that he would not be averse to the idea of managing Barcelona in the future despite being a club legend for bitter rivals Real Madrid.
Guti Hernandez has spent much of his footballing career – both as a player and in a managerial capacity – with Real Madrid. The Spaniard spent the entirety of his youth playing days with Los Blancos, having joined the club’s youth setup as a 10-year-old in 1986 before making swift progress through the ranks.
Less than 10 years later, he made his first-team bow for the Merengues while still in his teens. And in the following decade and a half, Guti went from strength to strength, playing a key role in the success Real Madrid achieved, winning 15 trophies with them.
Over the course of his stint with Real Madrid, Guti made 542 appearances while chipping in with 77 goals and 90 assists in the process before ending his playing career at Besiktas. Following his retirement, the 44-year-old returned to Real Madrid, spending several years coaching the youth sides at the club.
Since leaving Real Madrid for a second time, Guti has been assistant to Senol Gunes at Besiktas before joining Almeria as a first-team boss. The stint with Almeria did not work out as envisioned, and now the Spaniard has dropped a bombshell in an appearance at a La Liga Ambassadors Gala.
When quizzed about the prospect of coaching Barcelona in future, the Real Madrid legend said, “Well, why not? I’m available. You want to train and you want to teach people that besides being a player you also have what it takes to do well as a coach.”
“It is a complicated situation. Many times the bad results do not depend only on a coach, but he is the one who is held responsible the most. Barcelona is not well economically and it is a complicated position.”
However, it now turns out that Guti was rather sarcastic when making those comments as he later clarified in an interview with El Larguero (h/t Managing Madrid), “I would never go to Barcelona. The have a big mess. I enjoy watching Barcelona lose.”
Barcelona do appear to be in a mess and with Ronald Koeman’s job on the line, several candidates have been linked with them. One such profile is that of Roberto Martinez, who recently claimed that he is unlikely to take up the Barcelona job. As for Guti, it will be quite surprising if the Real Madrid legend ever managed the Blaugrana, although that appears to be improbable.
