Barcelona legend Hristo Stoichkov says Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola was fortunate with the team he inherited at Barca.
Stoichkov, a former Bulgarian international and Ballon d’Or winner, was a team-mate of Guardiola when Johan Cruyff led Barca to their first European Cup triumph in 1992.
The 54-year-old Stoichkov said: “Pep’s work was easy, as he knew perfectly well the infrastructure of the youth system.
“Frank Rijkaard made the squad Pep took over.
“Messi and other players had already debuted with Rijkaard. Spectacular things would have been achieved with Pep or without.
“There was Thierry Henry, Deco, Ronaldinho, Rafa Marquez, Carles Puyol and Victor Valdes.
“There were a few players Pep needed to move, but Andreas Iniesta and Pedro came in, and there was more playing time for Lionel – then the team was complete.”
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