Ex-Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola reportedly spied on his players. (Christof Koepsel/Getty Images)

Former Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola, who led the club to 14 titles over four seasons, reportedly spied on players from 2008-12, targeting the personal lives of Ronaldinho, Deco, Samuel Eto’o and current star defender Gerard Pique, according to FoxSoccer.com, citing a report from Spanish news outlet El Confidencial.

Guardiola, now on a one-year sabbatical after stepping down from his post at the end of last season, had enlisted in the services of detective agency Metodo 3 to monitor the lives of his players, taking a particular interest in Pique’s relationship with pop star Shakira, in order to ensure club harmony, according to the report:

“The Metodo 3 detective agency spied on FC Barcelona players under orders from the then director of Security and now director general of Penitentiary Services for the Generalitat (autonomous government of Catalonia), Xavier Martorell. [D]uring the time that Pep managed the ‘Azulgranas’ first team he developed a good understanding and friendship with Martorell, who willingly helped Guardiola to be informed at all times.”

Ronaldinho lost his $750,000 Coke sponsorship for drinking a can of Pepsi at a press conference (Vanderlei Almeida/Getty Images)

Ronaldo de Assis Moreira, better known as Ronaldinho, cost himself a Coke sponsorship worth $750,000 for drinking a can of Pepsi at a recent press conference, according to Yahoo! Sports:

Ronaldinho stunned Coke chiefs by turning up at a press conference and sipping nonchalantly from a can of their arch-rivals’ fizzy pop. Furious bosses at the Atlanta-based firm immediately demanded that the plug be pulled on his huge endorsement deal, according to a report in the ‘O Estado de Sao Paulo’ newspaper.

“The fact that the player has appeared with a can of Pepsi was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” Coca Cola marketing chief Marcelo Pontes told the paper. “The sponsorship had become embarrassing.”

The press conference was held to promote his new team, Atletico Mineiro, which Pepsi sponsors, according to The Atlanta Journal Constitution. The Coke sponsorship with Ronaldinho was supposed to run through 2014.