Pep Guardiola wanted me to be the new Pique, but now I don’t even say I played for Barcelona

DMYTRO CHYGRYNSKYI was once set to become Gerard Pique’s partner at the Nou Camp but now he doesn’t even admit he played at Barcelona.

Chygrynskyi joined Barca in 2009 after a stunning season with Shakhtar Donetsk as he helped the Ukrainian outfit shock Europe by winning the Uefa Cup.

Pep Guardiola wanted Dmytro Chygrynskyi to partner up with Gerard Pique at BarcelonaAFP

Then-Blaugrana boss Pep Guardiola was so impressed with the former Ukraine international that he wanted him to be Pique’s long-term partner at centre-back.

Chygrynskyi told Relevo: “In winter there were rumours in the press, but there was nothing.

“Days after winning Uefa Cup, I received a call: ‘Now it’s serious, Dmytro. They love you’. Wow! It was the first time I felt real pressure in my career.

“But even so, the moment in which I really saw that the thing was serious was when Guardiola called me while I was in pre-season in Switzerland. That’s when I was scared.

“Pep told me: ‘I want you to be a couple with Pique for many years. Trust me, I like your way out of the ball, your first pass… I was in shock.”

However, Chygrynskyi never managed to shine at Barcelona and only lasted a year before returning to Shakhtar.

The 36-year-old, who is still active and plays in Greece for Ionikos after a successful spell at AEK Athens, admits his brief stint in Catalonia was unsuccessful.

So much so that when asked about his time in the Catalan capital he says he was “at” Barcelona instead of stating he “played” for the Spanish giants.

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The defender blames it on his poor mentality at the time but insists current Manchester City boss Guardiola always had faith in him.

But after a sudden change in the club’s hierarchy, which saw Sandro Rosell replacing Joan Laporta at the top, the Ukrainian was let go in 2010.

Chygrynskyi added: “I never say that I played for Barca. I say: ‘I was at Barca’. And that’s different, because to say that you played there you need to have been an important part of the team.

“It was something more symbolic, something that shows that you can achieve your greatest dreams. I wanted to learn as quickly as possible. It was different football, a different country…

“Now I know that the main problem I had was my psychology. I was in too much of a hurry. I pushed myself too much.

“Pep told me: ‘Just do what I ask you, don’t think too much’. But I knew I wasn’t the best in training, so the sessions ended and I stayed working. I was obsessed with progressing quickly. With the language, doing double sessions in the gym…

“I put constant pressure on myself to turn the situation around. And Pep saw it, because in several conversations he asked me to calm down.

“It’s Barca. You’re not going to have two, three or four chances. If you’re not good enough, a year is a lot. It’s not like in England.

“On a general level I don’t think it would fail, but if we talk about some specific games, yes , I failed. And that is the price you pay at Barca.

“I say it without qualms: In the Cup match against Sevilla I failed. And against Cadiz in the League I also failed, despite the fact that we won. I had mistakes that at Barca are not acceptable, because the bar is very high.

“It also did not help me that the following year Joan Laporta left and Sandro Rosell came in, since I had not played much and nobody could guarantee me anything.

“Despite everything, Guardiola told me: ‘Don’t read anything, get ready. You didn’t have a pre-season, but this year will be different’. But what happened, happened and that’s how my story at Barca ended.”

Chyhrynskyi now won’t admit he played for Barcelona after his brief stintAFP