Guillem Balagué reveals insight on Messi, Ronaldo & Guardiola! | CBS Sports Kickin' It | Episode 11

Kate Abdo, Clint Dempsey, Charlie Davies and Mo Edu welcome in award-winning author, journalist and analyst Guillem Balagué to talk about his big career break, building trust with players and managers, and getting on David Beckham's bad side. Guillem discusses the process of writing a biography, Lionel Messi’s English skills, and how his relationship with José Mourinho changed over time. Then, the crew reflect on Grant Wahl’s tragic passing at the Qatar World Cup before speculating on what Pep Guardiola’s next job will be.
00:00 - Guillem Balagué joins Kickin’ It
04:41 - Balagué talks about his big career break
08:37 - Balagué on building trust with players and managers
11:21 - When Balagué got on David Beckham’s bad side!
13:19 - Do players have go-to journalists?
15:58 - Do players know who’s been speaking to the press?
19:28 - Balagué on getting sued for what the wrote about Ronaldo!
24:37 - Balagué on Lionel Messi’s English skills
27:19 - How Balagué’s relationship with José Mourinho changed over time
29:35 - The crew reflect on Grant Wahl’s tragic passing at the Qatar World Cup
36:20 - Balagué speculates on what Pep Guardiola’s next job will be
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[@grinchoi1]

Guillem basically confirmed what CR7 always felt about Messi. His PR team always working on his image that his own mouth shapes for him..

[@elizabethcsicsery-ronay1633]

????

[@amacuro]

But also painted a picture where you feel sorry for Cristiano, and with a childhood like that, you could give him a pass.

[@user-ze5bg2kr7e]

Wow grew up watching him on revisita de la liga as a kid and seeing David villa and silva playing for atletico as a lil kid on skysports but how amazing he is when he talks about football and gives great insight about he’s conversations with the elites. If I had to pick a person to have dinner with in my fav restaurant, it would be him, I would be there for the whole day listening to the days of pep vs mourinho era. Guillem balague 💯 shout out to rob palmer , Gerry Armstrong , Kevin keatings and gaizka for all those memories on sky la liga. Those good old days man…

[@amakiridikoru8393]

Yeah very clear, a lot of the vitriol between fans even the Messi-Ronaldo "rivalry" can be traced to Mourinho. That impact still lingers till today.

[@sabitboul6332]

I love him honestly .. great job guys for bringing up this interview

[@mnb9162]

He says he doesn't love football... But I guarentee if you took him out of football for 12 months he would realise how much he loves it.... I think he is just so involved that its kind of over-kill....

[@user-ze5bg2kr7e]

I was like wth is he talking about ?? How can you say you don’t love football but be that inlvoved is wild to me, I personally could not do that but it must be a lie

[@mnb9162]

@@user-ze5bg2kr7e He's saying it for a bit of a reaction.... Its like a brother that you've spent too much time with.... You may say... 'I hate him' etc.... But really deep down you know he loves it....

[@yaks1777]

I don’t buy it for a second

[@eloisavasquez3314]

De las mejores entrevistas..!

[@jadsru1]

CBS CBS.... WHAT a gem... this show is FIRE...

[@bryan5213]

I like how their arguing with him about Pep not choosing to coach the USMNT in this hypothetical situation 😂

[@piaandersen3220]

Great interview thank you.

[@nonto_coco]

As a City fan this conversation about Pep having 2 more years and the possibility of him leaving just sank my heart. Pep has done so much for our club from the day he stepped out of that taxi. The impact he has had from the men's team, academy and to the women's team is just crazy. you just look at what he has done with Rico, Foden, Stones and the other players, man we cannoh replace him *tear dropping right now*. Anyways, this was a fun episode

[@kattphatt]

The only way to know whether Pep has been successful or not will be after he leaves. The philosophy he was brought into the club to deploy he has done so successfully. It will be on the owners and structure to get the right man for the job moving forward, someone who we won't be worried about whether he will leave or not. Someone who will either continue Pep's style or evolve the same philosophy. That is how we will know whether the recruitment and infrastructure to bring Pep and his team in has worked. I feel as though it has, so I look forward to seeing the players playing under someone new. Not because I want Pep to go, but I would like to see what our future holds.

[@robertdundee2011]

115 charges suggests he had a lot of help. Worst part is they will get away with it. All Peps teams have been up to shady stuff that’s common knowledge but he’s the darling of Eufa so it’s ok.

[@nonto_coco]

okay mr know-it-all, tell me one charge that you definitely are informed City are guilty off, do you know the time period from which those charges are drawn? has it been revealed to you that those charges happened in Pep's time? or even the CFG ownership? Also why you talking like Pep is the one being charged and not the clubs??@@robertdundee2011

[@atiqaly6567]

@@robertdundee2011meeeh says the goat. Always the same thing with jealous people lol. How abt when pep beat man u with his barca boys how many charges were there i forgot?

[@nofurtherwest3474]

Man, kinda embarrased at our American compariots who actually think Pep would want to coach the USMNT. c'mon man

[@HMPGENERAL]

ahaha was dying at that, guillem didnt want to be rude so he gave them a political answer

[@tyronevaldez-kruger5313]

It depends on the money not the bad quality of the USMNT.

[@nofurtherwest3474]

@@tyronevaldez-kruger5313 no Pep doesn't just go for money alone.

[@tyronevaldez-kruger5313]

@@nofurtherwest3474 truth it depends on the the quality of football as well

[@selammeshesha878]

❤❤❤ best journalist

[@ikonxTech]

The Pep insight was great.

[@SydPeppa]

Katie Abdo is savage here 0:35 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@rand84]

He bloody loves football

[@OssielIbarravillegas]

Muy buen vídeo

[@theblastedfrench]

He is an inspiration

[@mjw8218]

I'd love to hear what Kate's accent turned into when she was hosting the Spanish football show.

[@danyj.mendez4745]

Guillém is a good listen…

[@choncha23]

That story about Cr7’s dad is Cr7’s story to tell. And no one else. Like he said: that is not sport.

[@nd5852]

It’s made up

[@AnthonyRodriguez-zc4xy]

he is not an athlete. he is an author. so yeah its not sport.

[@pavlecandovski841]

I would like to see Mr ‘Here We Go’ Romeo Agresti next, if they are going to go with journalists.

[@skaaya1]

Living in England, I lived through (and have to say thoroughly enjoyed) that Barcelona / Madrid - Pep / Jose rivalry, the games were a cultural event, Messi and Ronaldo were in their peak years (i think Messi won most of those duels), but i always thought Jose took it too personal and a little too far. Remember the eye gouging incident on the touchline?

[@khoitran770]

And I hate Mourinho since that day even though I was his fan when he was at Chelsea. His behaviour was totally unsporting, what he was thinking? Try to harm people. Imagine what if he made people blind with that eye gouging? That's totally evil.

[@tushan_96]

I always knew Roberto de zerbi is something else

[@Vargolis]

not sure about this man. loved revista de la liga growing up but it seems Guillem tries to show and friendly innocent face but then is self-seeking and ambitious behind the scenes which has got him into trouble a few times. Not sure about the integrity of this guy

[@patitoduck123]

Pep would fit right in with NYC lifestyle and fashion and all that. But I think the lack of world class talent would be the main reason he wouldn’t come here and the USMNT coach. The US has talent for sure, but Pep would want to win the WC, it’s not happening with the US yet

[@Argentoa]

Yeah, but people forget that he loved teaching kids and this would be an amazing project for him. We don't have world class players atm, but we do have world class athletes that he can mold into top level players which is what he is known for.

[@nascimentoarantes]

⁠@@Argentoawhat is world class athlete? Do you have top talents? I don’t think so. Don’t use language just to say nothing.

[@kb5509]

​​@@Argentoawhat kids? He's barely managed any young players in his entire career. He's brought through three players from the academy in his whole career, and two of them were mainly because he'd already managed them at B team level. Which players are better athletes than any other good footballer? And even if they were, an international manager gets about 2 weeks a year, split up amongst different breaks, to actually coach the team. There is no time to mold anyone into anything, there's barely time to go over basic set pieces.

[@Argentoa]

@@nascimentoarantes So nasty. The US has some of the best athletes in the world as evidenced by all the gold medals we keep winning at the Olympics, not to mention all the MLB/NFL etc. players that are obviously top tier athletes and could have easily been great soccer players if they chose that path and had the right coaching. Don't spout nonsense about the US not having world class athletes, that is just dumb.

[@Argentoa]

@@kb5509 He's spoken quite passionately about enjoying developing youth players and said that he might want to finish his career teaching at an academy. Why not take over the whole US youth system then? No, he wouldn't win with the team we have now but the point I made was that he could create his own talent to coach by changing the way US kids learn soccer. But honestly, he could probably make a fairly deep run with the players we have now.

[@nwameperez9075]

Ballague got a snakey vibe. Eyes to see will see

[@Taunt_2]

I was thinking the same thing. He seems like a snake

[@fizzedball7078]

He's a journalist for a living lol

[@benfuller2890]

yeah i was gonna say you can just tell

[@jeanjacqueslundi3502]

Yep. And I had that vibe before. He also made some biased comments somewhere where I felt he was very one-sided. I don't know why this guy is famous or even interviewed or always around famous footballing people.

[@myp0h]

The life of a journalist in sports can be very hard.

[@haaazzziiim]

Can we invite male American players next. Ones who played in Europe past present

[@chriscole6460]

Jerzy Dudek(Liverpool & Real Madrid former goalkeeper ) also wrote a book , had a lot to say about Messi 👀😂

[@iimrohtak8363]

Yep. He justified Ramos and Pepe’s attempt to end Messi’s football career by saying that Messi “mouthed foul words” on the pitch. What’s he supposed to do? Thank them for trying to kill him?

[@andrewinat434]

Dudek is Petty guy tbh

[@sankumsachs4289]

The ruffled carpet is REALLY bothering me.

[@born2bloved7]

Love Kate ! Pep won’t drive FIAT!! 😂

[@jothamkut2023]

This information came out after di maria had left madrid, i have a feelingbit was him that snaked😅

[@Blahblahblah69097]

Blaming Mourinho for dividing the country is probably the BIGGEST stretch in the world.

[@NeilLewis77]

He did make it toxic.

[@superstrongr]

You clearly didn’t watch El classico before him if you say that. Friends and national teammates were ready to throw punches every game because of him.Messi could’ve have his career ended multiple times because Jose instructed them to break his legs.

[@notaspeck6104]

More like he preyed on an existing division and added vitriol and hate to it. You clearly aren't to educated on this topic lmao.

[@amacuro]

Hmm who would know better about Spain and football, you or Balague? hmm... tough one!

[@21DMN]

He thinks go to train England!! WoW

[@collinsodhiambo3116]

What Mourinho did with Porto or even Inter Pep can never do such a thing. Thats just facts!!!

[@ss_GOAT]

HA!

[@sultansamrat3907]

What Pep did with serial loser Man city , Jose couldnt do it With "THE REAL MADRID"

[@kb5509]

Famous minnows of the game Inter Milan. A team stacked with world class players in every position.

[@kardondo]

so funny

[@DRog-vn8vm]

How do you know? I hate to break it to you, but your belief in a hypothetical with no basis is pretty far away from fact. Let's say I said something like....... Mourinho had chances at big spenders Chelsea (who were the equivalent of City when Abramovic first took over) and Madrid and didn't quite do what Pep did with Barca and City. So Mourinho can't do what Pep does with big teams. That's also a hypothetical...not fact. But at least that presents real parallels to form a basis. Two managers at two similarly large clubs. So what you're hypothetical is missing to even be taken seriously is the parallel of Pep at a Porto-style team and not winning what Mourinho did. Oh yeah.. that doesn't exist. So stick to calling hypotheticals what they are..what you believe. Leave facts for things that are actually facts

[@doriankhoury-ib1pw]

Fact... Fiat actually own Ferrari

[@Delboy0]

if Pep, goes to England I’m gonna bet on them winning the World Cup because England have the players but have wasted this great generation on the mediocre Southgate.

[@asnark7115]

ENG in the WC was a side with one midfielder (Grealish, when he played) plus a bunch of strikers and defenders. If Pep went there, he'd change out 2/3 starters and most of the bench. Not saying it can't happen, but I don't think ENG fans and the FA would allow it or understand his plan- despite his time at City.

[@adanmohamed6604]

Ronaldo's never been one to keep his mouth shut .. his PR team always worked overtime 😂😂😂

[@jarrodheadley5302]

This woman is gorgeous

[@Bob-sd8ns]

Cristiano and Mouriño were sad little men

[@filipeventura2729]

I lost all respect when he told the story of Cristiano and his dad while saying he dosent wanna share it. Disgraceful, and disrespectful specially knowing how much his father means to Ronaldo and how loosing him affected. Some things are private, Cristiano cant even walk ANYWHERE alone and he cant even keep his most PRIVATE memories.His life is treated like public property - Shameful really

[@kardondo]

Relax man, you Penaldo’s fanboys would eat his doodoo for a living 😂

[@kardondo]

Remember also what zronaldo’s had said about Messi when he single-handedly kicked out PENALDO and his Moudrid from the CL in 2011. PENALDO is not a saint.

[@myp0h]

Grow up. There is no malice in the disclosure. I believe that the CR7 issue with yhe dad is known by everyone to warrant this disclosure.

[@peterfuhnwi179]

Calm down man. Go get some beer

[@adelinasardothien8238]

No sympathy for a rapist

[@user-de4bs1kb3n]

as madridista i dont agree with the jose mourinho hate theory, madrid and barca have never been love, the Spanish national team has always been divided. it didnt start from mou and it wont end with mou.

[@leand682]

It did not help.

[@PjMasks-qu6bb]

Balague just showed his a Barcelona fanboy nothing else

[@manjunathprasadcv3332]

Better than fanboying a fascist Franco club

[@asnark7115]

So is everybody who watches and plays the sport with comprehension and appreciation, so,.. what's your point?

[@jayshen84]

I think Pep shld take on the USMT BUT with the conditions that he is given total free rein and resources. I think thw US has the talent but has not found the style of play that suits them. Pep is the kind of manager needed to find or even invent the style they need.

[@majormononoke8958]

Sorry, but this wouldnt work.

[@JW-28]

The US does not have the talent. Not even close.

[@stormybil]

​@majormononoke8958 there's talent outside of the MLS : I played with some great players in Texas & north Carolina 😊

[@Uriel07706]

Ronaldo and Madrid fans crying! The amount of stuffs y’all did to be successful only people in Spain would know😂😂 I live in Madrid but I don’t support Real Madrid 🤷🏽‍♂️.

[@asnark7115]

Yeah,.. don't take Paracetamol if you've been boosted or have the active infection.

[@thunderhaze8500]

So who called whom a MF ???🙄

[@marleybanda7859]

do u have ears?

[@vidurbharatram38]

A Ferrari or a Fiat! Sike!!!!!!

[@majormononoke8958]

Bad actually, should have said a Rolyce rolles or a fiat.

[@Shubham10SrP]

Guillaume Balague exposed the truth about Ronaldo's PR team trying to make him look nice. Clearly, Ronaldo fans love playing victim.

[@Strangeronapath]

Ronaldo feeds your children, thank him that you get to his name.

[@imranazizi8827]

when you have made millions and still need to use ronaldo to publish.. come on.. it is a low blow to tell about his father and mother.. who are you ? and the same goes for mourinho.. and pep suddenly he is telling jose about sportsmanship, but where is the sportsmanship when you use Ronaldos fathers alcoholisme to sell books..

[@mikemannaggia8570]

Kate Abdo is 42,looks 32 in the studio and looks 52 here wtf?!

[@majormononoke8958]

Who cares? It is all about lighting anyway.

[@stormybil]

Lol..that's the American influence 😅

[@mrfacts6860]

Even the latest fake story about garnacho and messi. Starred by his agent Ferdinand only to come out and say it was sarcasm after garnachos brother destroyed him on line... penaldo seek help

[@josey.garcia6601]

Naive!!

[@josey.garcia6601]

😂😂😂😂

[@thexpatsgaming8609]

What? I don’t understand a thing you just said

[@amirhossein9170]

Cry more pessi fan kido😂

[@iamD4]

​@@thexpatsgaming8609Rio said in his podcast that his kid told him "Messi unfollowed garnacho on Instagram bcoz he idolized Ronaldo". But garnacho brother confronted him on Twitter saying that "Messi never followed him in first place and don't try to create rivalry coz garnacho loves and idolized both Messi and Ronaldo." And Rio replied to him was " I was joking"

[@fireman44]

The real question is who is Guillem ballawat??!

[@amacuro]

Someone who has spoken to Guardiola and Messi and Mourinho many times. WHO ARE YOU?

[@yesmyninja6850]

pep doesn’t give af about „challenges“ he wants unlimited money and unlimited influence incredible that you don‘t see this after all these years at €ity. one of the biggest hypocrites in football. i‘d stay as far away as possible from him the type of person stabbing you in the back when you ain‘t looking. 🐍

[@amacuro]

Most players and coaches recognize Pep as the best. But... YOU know more than them!!! YOU are such a genius!!!

[@danny3dandtoons958]

As Usual use Ronaldo to make more money. Humans are not that Good, Even your Humble Messi. For A person to reveal His private thoughts to you and then you share it, especially the part about His father, Goshm

[@kratostherealgod8564]

yea, but to call messi mf is just stupid, cristiano is just a jealous player who wants to be no. 1, but he has always been 100 steps behind messi and his ego cant take it

[@amacuro]

Cristiano called Messi MF. Terrible.

[@danny3dandtoons958]

@@kratostherealgod8564 he didn't mean it as an insult. It was a wrong choice of Word. Listen to the video again, He calls Every opponent that, not just Messi. Ronaldo wants to be no 1. I too want to be no 1. So what. What's Bad about wanting to be no 1. He has a Choleric temperament which is mostly associated with Highly Energetic and Ambitious, always wanting to be in control of situations. I too want to be No 1. And I will. Working on it No mother fu*ker will stand in my way. I don't care. I am the Best at what I do. I refuse to accept defeat ans believe that someone else born of a woman just like me is better than me in my Craft. I reject that notion. In my mind, I know I am the best. It's a warrior mentality.

[@danny3dandtoons958]

@@amacuro it was wrong. but not just messi, Every opponent he faced. And he didn't mean it as an insult. Poor choice of English Word. He could have chosen a better word to call Every Enemy He faces.

[@amacuro]

@@danny3dandtoons958 I think Cristiano needs to convince himself that he is better than Messi, it's the only way he would have the drive to surpass him. And he has done so in terms of results at times. Something funny about Cristiano fans is that they take a guy like Messi who only cares about his wife and kids, in terms of lifestyle, is extremely dedicated and professional (he has been consistently Messi for more than 15 years, and that's only achieved through hard work and dedication), a guy who never says he is the best and Cristiano fans somehow find the little things Messi makes mistakes about and try to maximise it and paint it as "this is the REAL messi", which is petty and unrealistic.

[@ole000]

England : Pep as a manager .............its Coming Home......

[@hamadhasan6630]

20:45 Truth of Ronaldo, this is why we will never respect him. Messi will always be better than this overrated fraud merchant

[@mikeljana3578]

This people are making shows like we used to have conversations when we were kids, it’s unbelievable!!! Kids talk like that, if my grandma had balls what would she be? Cancel this stupid talk show that call themselves soccer analysts!

[@hossamgebeily]

This channel is getting kind of annoying. Just go back to the basics. What are these nonsense shows? It’s disappointing.

[@johng2041]

U don’t have to watch son

[@majormononoke8958]

Lol, literally the only episode that seems watchable...

[@StartupSound]

Messi will never speak any other language other than Spanish, even Spanish is already a big ask, with all due respect, it's just not one of his qualities. His life is a ball, that's his God given gift, and that's it. It's one of the main reasons he went to Miami, and probably the biggest reason among others that he left Paris. Mr. Balagué, it's obvious that you will always tend heavily to the Messi "side" vs. Ronaldo in their so called rivalry for all reasons, so you really should refrain from certain character evaluations, it doesn't show you in the light you maybe think it does. Actual football people know that Ronaldo is not as "bad" as he's sometimes portrayed, and Messi is not as "good" as he's sometimes portrayed. I understand you're a speculator, but it's not fooling anyone and doesn't do you any favors

[@Liamnoen]

Bruh 💀

[@superstrongr]

You little fanboys are cracking me up 😂😂. The truth is is CR was never close to Messi as a fotballer or as a person.he always hated Messi just because he was better.

[@Olya0247]

Everyone knows that Ronaldo hates Messi and is jealous of him. Ronaldo is a narcissist, he always thinks only about himself. I'm not saying that because of this he is a bad person, no, I'm just saying the facts and that's it. Messi is calm about their confrontation, but Ronaldo is not. This just reflects their characters. Messi is an introvert, he is more modest, quiet, speaks little, keeps all his emotions to himself, and so on. Ronaldo, on the contrary, is an extrovert, he is sociable, charismatic, openly shows all his emotions, even negative ones, he is more jealous, envious and passionate. Watch Ronaldo's interview with Piers Morgan. He openly says there that he would like to have more Ballon d'Or than Messi. And he also said in a press conference before the World Cup 2022 that he wanted to checkmate Messi (thus winning the World Cup and ending their rivalry). What can we say about “Factos” in 2021 and like and laughing emoji about the fact that Messi stole the Ballon D’Or 2023. Ronaldo's fans make him a victim and create an image of him as if no one loves him and everyone is against him, when in fact this is not the case and this is not true. If some football player, coach or person says something good about Messi, then they immediately begin to hate this person. Like, for example, Zidane recently for giving a joint interview with Messi. Ronaldo's fans call this betrayal, etc. Is this normal in your opinion? Each person has his own choice and his own opinion. I respect both players as they are amazing in their own way, but Ronaldo has the most toxic fanbase of them all. And this is also a fact

[@amacuro]

Cristiano calling Messi a MF. Terrible.

[@votewomensrightsgunscontro8617]

Ronaldo NEVER was, Never has been nor never will be a nice guy period. … MESSI HAS ALWAYS BEEN BETTER AND NICER THAN RONALDO 1000%

[@al_wombat]

Do you know any of those two personally?

[@votewomensrightsgunscontro8617]

@@al_wombat … The Saudis propaganda money machine wants to buy trophies for Penaldo… the entire world knows that MESSI IS THE REAL GOAT 🐐…. PENALDO IS THE CAMEL OF THE SAUDIS 🐫 … ENJOY 😂

[@jarrodheadley5302]

This is complete bs

[@heshanlahiru2120]

​@@al_wombat Cristiano (Ronaldo is a world champion) is one of the most arrogant and biggest showboat who just talk and does nothing. He will never be a humble person. He is more of a celebrity/influencer than a sportsman

[@heshanlahiru2120]

​@@jarrodheadley5302no he is speaking facts