Carles Puyol has rejected an offer from the new Inter Milan manager, Roberto Mancini, to become his assistant at the Seria A club, according to 'La Gazzetta dello Sport'.
Mancini called Puyol personally - despite not knowing him - on Monday with the object of explaining his proposal.
It seems that Puyol did take a couple of days to think about the offer, although he eventually decided not to take it up for a few different reasons.
Firstly, the former Barcelona defender has still not taken all his coaching badges; he has no experience as a manager - despite being an expert leader on the pitch - and that would also be a handicap, he felt.
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But also, among other reasons, because of his strong ties with Barcelona. He has only just began his new job working alongside Andoni Zubizarreta.