Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has insisted that former club Barcelona are still the best team in the world following their 4-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, but has revealed he will never return for a second spell as the club's head coach.
Speaking in his Friday press conference, Guardiola put paid to the idea that he could return as "his period there is gone."
Guardiola took over as boss at City at the start of the season, and initially left Barca in 2012 following the most successful period in the club's history. After a year's hiatus, he returned to manage Bayern Munich before moving to England.
Pep Guardiola: "If there's a team that can comeback from 4-0, with their mentality, it's Barca. They're still the best team in the world." pic.twitter.com/qAnNIFUmnM
According toSky Sports, heclaimed that all is not lost for the Spanish champions in the second leg of their Champions League last 16 tie, despite the deficit created in Paris,as Barca's mentality could carry them through.
He said:"There's a lot of competition, the opposition are so strong. You can win heavily or you can lose heavily, that can happen, it's happened to me, but there are 90 minutes to go and anything can happen. If there's a team who can do it, then it's Barca, with their mentality.
"Barcelona are still the best team in the world. It's always a surprise because they are so, so good, but in football anything can happen.
"When you have dominated world football, it's normal that the people expect you to keep up that level, but my advice to you, knowing Luis (Enrique) and the players a little, is not to talk too much, because they will be back and prove you wrong.
"They've done it over the years, dominating football for 10 years, and they continue to be the best team in the world."
However, he went on to add that he would not consider a return to Barca even while speculation is rife that current coach Luis Enrique willleave the club at the end of the season:"I will never go back to Barcelona to be coach there. My period there is gone."
The likes of Jorge Sampaoli and Ronald Koeman have been talked up as potential successors to Enrique at the end of the current campaign.
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