Guardiola pays homage to players

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola has paid tribute to his players and says their success in recent seasons is fully deserved.

Guardiola has won 13 trophies since taking charge at the Catalan club in 2008, including three La Liga and two Champions League titles.

But the 41-year-old is eager to shift credit to his players.

“Let it be clear to everyone, we’ve won so much simply because we’ve been better than the rest,” Guardiola told reporters.

“Winning 13 out of 16 titles is all down to the athletes. In the end this game always belongs to the players.”

“We’ve won because we’ve got some fantastic players. This is all down to the athletes, who have performed so well over the whole period.”

Barcelona play at Racing Santander in La Liga on Sunday.