In today's press conference Pep Guardiola was quite categorical about his intentions regarding Barcelona's Thiago. The following quotes are taken verbatim from @honigstein (Raphale Honigstein's twitter account):

"I want Thiago Alcantara. Have asked (Bayern to get him) Don't know what will happen. I know him very well. I talked to Rummenigge and Sammer about him, we will wait and then see"
"Thiago is the only player I want, that's what I told them. It'll be him or no one"

"We have many players but we the need the special (quality) that Thiago Alcantara brings"
"I Don't think (adding another midfielder) will be a problem. I spoke to club about my concept and told them why I want Thiago Alcantara"
"Javier Martinez can play at CB, he played very well there with Athletic"

"The club will decide. I told them my opinion"

"Nobody will leave Barcelona, unless they feel they won't play much. He wants to play. That's why I proposed him to the club"

"I give my opinion, but I listen to the board. If they say no, that's ok."

WOW. A Lot to cover here.
#1 - Pep is hinting that Thiago thinks he will have even less playing time now that Neymar is at Barca. My question: EXACTLY how much playing time will he get at Bayern? Obviously, Pep would have to assure him a lot of minutes to get him to come. If that's the case, then that bring me to point 2

#2- Bayern already have Martinez, Schwieni, Kroos, Gustavo, & Götze in midfield. Clearly someone will have to dropped from midfield if they were to sign him. I think he'd be in danger of angering his players/disrupting the squad harmony. It's a big gamble.

#3- The idea of playing Martinez at CB sounds terrible. I mean, he's considered one of the best CDM in the world right now and was considered by many to be THE key to Bayern's dominance last season. Another gamble.

#4- The following quotes: "Thiago is the only player I want, that's what I told them. It'll be him or no one. **I give my opinion, but I listen to the board. If they say no, that's ok." ** are a bit aggressive. On the one hand, if Bayern's baord were really thinking of refusing the purchase, Pep's discussion of it in public will make them all look bad. Perhaps, that's why he talked about it in the first place... to pressure the board to make the move. I doubt it though, as that would NOT sit well with the egos of Bayern's boardmembers. Then again, I don't think Pep would've publicly it at all, unless the deal for Thiago was all but wrapped up. That brings me to my final point...

#5- I think United can go home now. That ship has sailed it seems.

Playing Martinez in CB is a DISASTER. As the best defensive midfielder in the world (Alonso, Busquets, and co are deep lying playmakers), I think he should remain there. Heynckes realized in 2011 that his team needed a physical presence beside Bastian, and Gustavo wasn't enough. So he bought Martinez for 40.000.000 Euros, indicating that it is a long-term investment, as Bayern aren't as "money-happy" as teams like Real Madrid. And Martinez worked out beautifully. I knew that Martinez was a brilliant talent at Bilbao, but felt like he needed more quality on his side to help him flourish. Bayern have given him just that, and it's what has made him so good.

I think Pep is given TOO much faith by the Bayern board. If they DIDN'T buy Gotze, it would be okay to buy Thiago, but Gotze HAS been bought, and he is as good as/better than Thiago, and also promising and young. More importantly, Gotze is GERMAN. The only things Bayern need right now is another striker for Mandzukic (Lewa on his way), and maybe another CB. That's it. They have NO need for Thiago. Pep would be making a huge mistake on buying Thiago. And as I expect, it'll be a horrible transfer for Thiago, Pep, AND Bayern, resulting in continuing the debate that Pep Guardiola makes horrible transfers.

@Dynastian: I still think De Rossi si the best CDM in the world, but for the rest I am with you. I am in no place to question the footballing decisions of Pep Guardiola, as the man is no fool BUT I cannot fathom the wisdom of ruining Martinez by putting him in CB.

What do you think he\'s planning if he got Thiago?

My thinking is he\'d probably play a 4-2-3-1 with Martinez at CB, Thiago & Schweini next to each other, Gotze as the #10, Ribery/Shaqiri on LW, Robben/Muller on RW, and Mandzukic/Pizarro as CF.
Terrible idea IMO.

@Footaholic

Yea, I think he's planning a stunt similar to that. And of course, he has to make room for Kroos as well. They're a stacked squad already. If they were in any other team, Shaqiri and Robben would get 90 mins every game. It's going to be a bad buy, not just for Thiago, but for the rest of the squad members as well. They're going to get their playing time cut a lot by his presence.

And whups, I forgot about De Rossi. >.<

We're agreed then. Honestly, if I were Pep and I had money to burn, I'd try to sign Suarez or Aguero. Those little nimbly striker types are my favourite and they also allow for more tactical flexibility as they can play in a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 or indeed a 4-4-2 (pretty much any formation).

Pep should reconsider this move. Martinez is a brilliant midfielder, and his talent should not be wasted in CB. It would be the worst decision Pep could possibly make in this Bayern squad. Thiago ought to have gone to United, where there is less competition for his position, and he could earn his place quickly.

Guy's I don't really think he's gonna make him a permanent CB like he did with Mascherano. I think that they don't have much depth in the CB position (Dante, Budstuber, Boateng) and I think if any of them were to be injured he would shift Martinez to CB for a little and have someone fill in that CDM position like he used to do with Busquets.

@tdot

Well, that's what were hoping for. We're hoping that Javi keeps his usual DM spot. But Pep makes these ridiculous decisions sometimes, like putting Mascherano in CB, which worked out terribly for Barca.

@dyn
I disagree with you. It worked extremely well for Barcelona considering the fact that we have no reliable CB's after Pique and Puyol. For a good period of the season we were short of defenders due to injury (even putting freaking Adriano as a CB), so Mascherano proved to be very useful.

Why do you say that it worked out terribly for Barca?

I think he should go to a club where he will play every game.. maybe Dortmund will steal the show :)