All that glitters is not gold, or so the saying goes, and the seemingly warm relationship between Seydou Keita and Pep Guardiola appears to be a prime example of this. At one point, the former Barça manager went as far as to proclaim that the Malian "is one of my favourites". This did not sit well with the player, as these words were not reflected when Guardiola named his line-ups.
In an interview with Malian newspaper Match, Keita, who has already made his debut for Chinese outfit Dalian Aerbin, explained that there were both financial and sporting reasons for his departure. "I've heard it said many times that Guardiola really liked me. People got that idea because he said good things about me, they thought everything was okay. But then I didn't play", the battling midfielder stated.
"My only regret today is about the words he dedicated to me. We spoke man to man because it didn't seem right that he would praise me in public and then not put me in the team", he added.
Keita eventually grew tired of sitting on the bench, leading him to seek out pastures new: "Playing in one match and then being named as a substitute for the next two was a big concern for me at Barcelona. It's a physical handicap. In China you don't have that problem".