Former Real Madrid director Jorge Valdano, who left Los Blancos in 2011 after falling out with head coach Jose Mourinho, has described Pep Guardiola, coach of Real’s hated rival FC Barcelona from 2008-2012, as the “Steve Jobs of football”, saying that he has revolutionized soccer in the same way that the former Apple CEO revolutionized consumer technology.

"Guardiola did a fantastic job,” Valdano told Yahoo Eurosport. “He is the Steve Jobs of football: experimental, brave, a lover of beauty, and innovative. He is an important point of reference in the footballing world, and rightly so.

Valdano pointed out that Real’s youth policy of developing and then selling players differs from Barcelona’s system of in-house development. "Barca have turned their football into a culture and everything that the youngsters learn at [the club's academy] La Masia is then applied at the Camp Nou," he said.

Guardiola, who is currently in New York with his family, won several trophies during his time as coach of Barca, including three La Liga titles, two UEFA Champions League trophies and two Copa del Rey trophies.