According to various reports in Germany and Spain, it was Pep who made the first move towards taking over at Bayern back on July 26, 2011, when he was still in charge of Barcelona.
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Uli Hoeness were seated at the VIP restaurant in the Allianz Arena, when Pep arrived and took a seat alone at another table. Rummenigge approached Guardiola and the Spaniard said: "May I speak with you both?" The three of them ordered coffee and Guardiola added: "Your philosophy is very interesting. I can imagine myself training Bayern."
He wrote his phone number on a piece of paper and gave it to Rummenigge before leaving the room. After that, he told his brother and agent Pere: "I've given my number to Rummenigge, I think he will call me."
Later, Pere Guardiola called Giovanni Branchini, one of the most famous agents in Italy, and told him to make Bayern aware of his brother's interest. In the autumn of 2011, Pep told Sandro Rosell that he may not renew his contract with Barcelona. In January 2012, Branchini met with Rummenigge and told him about Peps interest. Pere wanted to move his brother to the Premier League, particularly to Manchester City, but Pep was focused only on Bayern by this point; his mind was made up.
In November 2012, Pep called Rummenigge from New York and told him: "I want to train Bayern." The following month, Hoeness took a flight to New York and presented Guardiola with his contract.
Why did Pep prefer Bayern to City? Because he was in love with the philosophy of the team and believed he would only have to make two or three modifications to achieve perfection.
