Gerard Pique’s old soccer coach hired a private investigator to tail the FC Barcelona star and his Colombian lady friend, Shakira, in a case of extreme micromanagement.
In an effort to keep his players in line, Pep Guardiola, who managed Barcelona from 2008 to 2012, reportedly had the club’s more noteworthy stars tailed by private eyes. An investigator from the Spanish agency Method 3 allegedly followed Pique and Shakira because Guardiola suspected his defender of partying too hard.
“He was obsessive that the players maintained a tidy private life and that they did not go out on sprees of revelry for fear that later they would not produce results on the field,” an insider told the Spanish tabloid, El Confidencial.
The spying peaked after Pique started dating Shakira. They were spotted leaving their prefered watering hole, located near FC Barcelona facilities, at the outrageous hour of 2AM. Details included the specific cocktails consumed by the power couple.
Pique, who’s anti-spy radar must be quite responsive, complained about the tail to Guardiola. The manager, famous for his meticulous micromanament of players, shrugged off the accusation claiming that the spies were actually just paparazzi.
However intrusive Guardiola’s methods might seem, they are undeniably effective. The youngest manager to win the UEFA Champeons League, he was also named FIFA world coach of the year in 2011.
