A training whistle, an incense collection and a ball with real rarity value: Manchester City are clearing out Pep Guardiola's former office and letting fans bid.
When Pep Guardiola left Manchester City this summer after ten years, his office remained behind, for a while at least. Now the club are clearing it out, publicly: items from Guardiola's former office are up for auction, from his training whistle to his office chair.
The auction is called Farewell Pep and runs via the platform MatchWornShirt. Anyone wanting to bid can first click through a virtual 360-degree tour of Guardiola's office, where the items on offer are shown in their original spot. A portion of the proceeds goes to City in the Community, the club's official charity.
Whistle, incense, office chair: The Guardiola pieces up for sale
The lot list reads like an inventory of his tenure. Alongside the training whistle, Guardiola's incense collection, coffee cup set, training jacket, framed photographs and office chair are all up for sale, along with limited framed pieces of the goal net from his final home game. According to British newspaper The Sun, only the desk, the sofa and the clothes rack remain with the club.
The bids show just how much interest there is: within the first few days, even everyday items reached three-figure sums, with the office chair at one point sitting at several hundred pounds.
The most expensive piece: A Haaland ball, with only three ever made
The most expensive item in the auction so far is a ball signed by Erling Haaland, illustrated with each of his 100 Premier League goals. At the time of publication, the highest bid stands at around €11,500. Only three of these balls were produced: one was retained by Haaland, one is preserved in Manchester City's archive, and the third is being auctioned.
The auction closes on Sunday, 26 July. Guardiola left City after ten years with six Premier League titles, a Champions League win and the Club World Cup. His successor in the dugout is Enzo Maresca, who had previously worked as Guardiola's assistant at the club on two separate occasions.
