PEP GUARDIOLA SAID the reason he decided to leave Barcelona was because he no longer enjoyed being part of the team’s matches.

The 41-year-old coach put an end to his four-year reign at Camp Nou to take a year-long sabbatical from football after guiding the club to a staggering 14 titles.

Guardiola claims that he is in need of a break from football and revealed that he had lost the motivation for the job in recent times.

“I did not enjoy Barca’s matches in the Champions League and in La Liga anymore,” he said in an interview with Israeli channel Canal 2.

“It was very tough. Being a coach of Barca requires a lot of energy. After so much time, you need to distance yourself.”

The Spanish coach, who stated that he will live in Manhattan, New York, next year, then refused to rule out a return to Camp Nou in the future.

I have nothing decided, I have to see what I will do. Perhaps I will return to Barca, perhaps I will not.

But I will always take Barca in my heart and I will always be around.

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