Guardiola: Mourinho had nothing to do with my exit from Barcelona

Posted Wednesday, May 02, 2012 by Goal.com

Pep Guardiola has stressed that his troublesome relationship with Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho did not play a role in his decision to say farewell to Barcelona at the end of the 2011-12 campaign.

The 41-year-old revealed on Friday that he will not extend his existing contract with Barca as he needs a break after becoming "exhausted" in the job.

"Did Mourinho influence my decision to leave? Not at all. I had other opponents as well, but other coaches don't make you tired. Day-to-day work and winning does," Guardiola stated at a press conference.

However, the Barcelona coach refused to rule out a return to Camp Nou in the future.

"Will I again be Barca coach in the future?" he said. "I can't answer that now. I really don't know."

Mourinho recently stated that Cristiano Ronaldo deserves to win the 2012 Fifa Ballon d'Or, but Guardiola disagrees as he feels Lionel Messi is sitting in pole position for the prestigious trophy.

He added: "Mourinho says Cristiano Ronaldo should win the Ballon d'Or this year rather than Messi? There will be a day that Messi won't win it, but he's been brilliant this season."