Who is Pere Guardiola? The agent of Luis Suarez, brother Pep & part owner of Girona

Football runs in certain families, and it should come as no shock whatsoever that Pep Guardiola, one of the most talented coaches of his generation, comes from such stock.

Pere Guardiola may not be as extensively known as his Manchester City-managing brother, but he has been quietly making his way successfully in the footballing world as an agent, having previously been employed within Nike’s Sports Marketing department, where he worked with Barcelona, Spanish national team players and Brazilian duo Ronaldo and Ronaldinho, among others.

Now an intermediary, he unsurprisingly looks after the affairs of his elder sibling while he also boasts Barcelona striker Luis Suarez as the most famous client of his Media Base Sports agency.

When he set up the company in 2009 along with Jaume Roures, who holds at 45 per cent stake, he did so with the aim of being able to help professional footballers in all aspects of their life, from on the field through to legal issues and tax away from it. 

The plan was to pick up promising young players, and a decade on, this policy has started to reap dividends as Media Base Sports now represent some of the outstanding young talent on the Iberian peninsula, where they focus primarily of recruiting Spanish and Portuguese prodigies.

Among those to have climbed to the top of the game are William Carvalho, who was so long linked with a move to Manchester United before switching to Real Betis earlier this year, and Junior Firpo, who made the move from the Seville club to Barcelona in the summer and appears to have a highly promising future as a modern full-back.

Real Madrid’s Brahim Diaz, formerly under Pep’s charge at Manchester City, is another on the agency’s books.

Pere’s involvement in the game, however, has not been without controversy, most notably with his decision to go into business with Manchester City’s Abu Dhabi owner to acquire 88% of Segunda Division side Girona.

Nevertheless, no conflict of interest was found between City sending players on loan to Girona apparently to the benefit of Pere, while FA rules that forbid intermediaries to have an interest in a club apparently only applies to English clubs. The Spanish FA, meanwhile, does not have a similar law so the deal has been conducted in a legal manner.

Pere’s influence in the game may not be as evident as Pep’s, but there is little doubt that he is set to be a fixture for years to come – perhaps even outlasting his more illustrious brother.