Where are they now? The first 7 Barcelona players sold by Pep Guardiola
Pep Guardiola wasted no time in announcing himself to the world by turning Barcelona into treble winners in his first season as manager in 2008-09.
Having honed his craft with Barcelona B, Guardiola took over the first team in 2008 following Frank Rijkaard’s departure. Within a season, La Blaugrana went from a somewhat fallen giant winning domestic honours here and there to arguably the greatest club football side ever to exist.
Not everyone could go on the journey, however. Here are the first seven players Guardiola sold as Barcelona manager and what came next for them.
Santiago Ezquerro
Signing for Barcelona in 2005 in the autumn of his career, Ezquerro quickly wound up surplus to requirements following the emergence of Lionel Messi and was allowed to leave for free upon the expiry of his contract in 2008.
He returned to Osasuna where it all started, but was released just one year into a three-year deal and retired aged 33 having failed to stay fit and find a club. Ezquerro has kept an extremely low profile since.
Gianluca Zambrotta
Another solid but ageing player, Barcelona were never going to see the best of Zambrotta, who signed in 2006 after leaving Juventus.
He made 58 appearances in two years before returning to Serie A with Milan and enjoying a late-career resurgence. Zambrotta retired in Switzerland in 2014 and became manager of Chiasso after a spell as player-manager.
Management didn’t work out for the Italian wing-back, who has tried his hand at everything since retiring.
He opened a fitness complex in Como in 2014, has featured on TV shows and now works as a UEFA ambassador.
Deco
A magnificent footballer in his pomp, Deco’s powers were waning by 2008 but many would’ve assumed he still could’ve played a key role at Barcelona.
Not Pep, though. He was happy to sell the Portugal international to Chelsea, where he struggled to rediscover his previous magic. He spent two years at Stamford Bridge before retiring with Fluminense.
Deco has had his own sports agency since retiring and returned to Barcelona in 2023 as the club’s sporting director. It’s been a success so far and only appears to be getting better working with Hansi Flick.
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Giovani dos Santos
The Mexican was tipped as one of the best youth prospects in the game in the early-to-mid 2000s and made his way through La Masia before a first-team breakthrough in 2007-08.
Giovani didn’t quite cut the mustard, however, and was sold to Tottenham in Pep’s first summer in charge. A somewhat nomadic career followed, with loans within England and as far as Turkey.
The Mexican forward returned to Spain in 2012 with Mallorca, before heading back across the pond in 2015.
His career finished with a strong spell with LA Galaxy before retiring at Club America in 2021. Capped 106 times for Mexico, Giovani wasn’t a world-beater, but still enjoyed a fine career.
He’s now entered a career in business and is a partner at Procura Mexico as well as having other ventures.
Oleguer
A regular under Rijkaard and an occasional captain, the defender started as Barcelona won the Champions League in 2006, but his influence faded in the years that followed and he eventually retired aged 31 in 2011 after three years at Ajax.
Capped six times for the Catalonia national team, Oleguer spent much of his playing career as an activist and holds a degree in economics from the Autonomous University of Barcelona.
He continues to be involved in politics to this day and has campaigned against commercialisation in football.
Oleguer is a good man. Be like Oleguer.
Ronaldinho
The biggest sale of them all, Ronaldinho’s luxurious lifestyle coupled with fitness issues made for a disappointing 2007-08 season and he was put up for sale that summer.
It was agreed that he needed a new challenge and that came in the form of Milan, spending three years with the Rossoneri before moving back to Brazil and eventually retiring with Fluminense in 2015.
Ronaldinho’s post-playing career has been eventful. His passport was suspended in 2019 over unpaid taxes and he ended up in Paraguayan prison a year later for travelling on a fake one.
The Brazilian legend has since kept busy with advertising campaigns and ambassadorial appearances.
READ: Where are they now? The last 7 players Barcelona signed on a free transfer
Marc Crosas
Coming through the ranks at the club, Crosas was simply unable to find his spot in a midfield packed with generational talent and – after a loan to Lyon – joined Celtic in the summer of 2008 to try and kickstart his career.
He spent three years in Glasgow before a bizarre and brief one-year stint in Russia with Volga, before setting up camp in Mexico. Crosas returned to Spain briefly in 2016-17 with Tenerife, before retiring a year later.
Crosas has now moved into football broadcast in Mexico, but also owns a tattoo shop. Extremely cool.