Barca rescind player's contract hours after signing him over offensive tweets
He might share the same surname as Barcelona legend Pep Guardiola even though they're not related.
But Sergi Guardiola's name will go down in infamy in the La Liga giants' history books for all the wrong reasons after his contract was rescinded over offensive anti-Barcelona messages on his Twitter account.
The 24-year-old midfielder had just penned his deal in the afternoon with the Barcelona's B team when officials took the drastic action after discovering Guardiola's offending tweets from 2013.
The messages contained vitriol against the club and Catalonia as well as "Hala Madrid", a phrase used by supporters of Barca's bitter rivals Real Madrid.
Guardiola, who last played for Madrid-based second-tier side Alcorcon, accepted the decision and apologised to the club and their parent region for the offensive messages.
However, the player insisted in an interview with Spanish radio station Cope that they were not his words and that his friends were responsible for pulling a prank on him.
Guardiola isn't alone in losing a contract in Spain over old social media posts.
In July, Deportivo La Coruna were set to sign Julio Rey from a third-division side only to back out of the deal a day later when they learnt of his tweet which read "**** DEPOR, **** RIAZOR (the club's home stadium)".
Sources: The Guardian, 101 Great Goals
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now