Barca's Pique likens Guardiola to Ferguson

Barcelona defender Gerard Pique has lavished praise on incoming Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, comparing the Spaniard with former Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson.

The 29-year-old, who had played under both coaches, described Ferguson as a godfather and said that he was really intense during training and so was Guardiola.

" Sir Alex Ferguson, when I was there I remember [Carlos] Queiroz was the guy who took training, he (Ferguson] was like more outside, controlling everything, taking a different position," he was quoted as saying by a football website.

"And Guardiola was like every day, he was there, but both of them you can see their careers. I think they're both fantastic," Pique added.

Guardiola, who is gearing up for his first Premier League, had earlier signed a three-year deal of more than 15 million Euros an year to take over Manuel Pellegrini.

Guardiola was also Ferguson's first choice to replace him at Old Trafford instead of David Moyes, who succeeded him as the manager in 2013.