‘You never gave it to me’ – Gary Lineker reveals why he refused to give young ballboy Pep Guardiola his Barcelona shirt

GARY LINEKER has revealed how he left Pep Guardiola with a long-term bone to pick with him, and why it happened.

Speaking on Match of the Day Top 10 alongside Micah Richards and Alan Shearer, Lineker recalled when he first went to interview Guardiola after he had joined Manchester City.

But before they started, Guardiola wanted to ask the former England ace why he refused to give him his shirt despite asking many times.

Lineker, 64, explained: “When he joined Manchester City, I went to do an interview with the BBC.

“And he went, ‘Before we start, I was a ballboy at Barcelona when you played, when you were there.'

“And he said, ‘At the end of every game I'd come to you and I said can I have your shirt? You never gave it to me.'

“And I felt bad about it.”

Lineker continued: “I did explain to him, I said, ‘Pep it wasn't like it is now. In those days we only had one shirt. We weren't allowed to give it away.'”

Asked by Richards whether he could have bought a shirt to solve the issue, Lineker said: “I didn't earn what you lot earned.”

The comment sparked laughter from Richards and Shearer.

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Lineker starred for Barcelona from 1986 to 1989, scoring 52 goals in 138 games and winning two trophies, the Copa del Rey in 1988 and the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1989.

City boss Guardiola, 54, came through the club's world-renowned La Masia academy and went on to play 382 times for his boyhood club.

He was playing for the Barcelona C and B by the time Lineker left the club before making his debut in 1990 under Johan Cruyff and becoming a regular in the 1991/92 season.

Guardiola eventually went on to manage the club after hanging up his boots, coaching arguably the greatest football team of all time spearheaded by Lionel Messi to unrivalled success.

The Spaniard left in 2012 before joining Bayern Munich in 2013, where he stayed until 2016.

He then joined City in 2016 and has gone on to dominate English football in the years since his arrival.