Starting as a Defensive Midfielder at Real Madrid

”You think… is there a chance we could bring Leon to the Etihad?”

As the situation on the pitch grew more tense and City’s attacks increasingly sluggish, Guardiola suddenly muttered this aloud, as if talking to himself.

His train of thought was so sudden and out of nowhere that the assistant standing beside him was completely caught off guard, unable to respond.

After voicing this thought, Guardiola fell silent again. But the look in his eyes as he watched the pitch turned visibly more complicated.

Once upon a time, he had genuinely had a chance to bring Leon under his wing.

Back when he had just left Barcelona and was finalizing his contract with Manchester City—before officially taking charge.

At that point, Guardiola hadn’t anticipated that Mourinho would leave Real Madrid at the end of that season, even though he’d already seen signs of friction between Mourinho and both Madrid’s fans and parts of the upper management.

Still, no one in world football really believed Mourinho would resign from such a dominant Madrid side just because he didn’t feel ”respected.”

That shock departure completely disrupted Guardiola’s plans to approach Leon for a potential transfer.

Before Mourinho’s sudden exit, it was practically a fantasy for any club to try prying Leon away from Real Madrid.

So Guardiola had merely planned to initiate preliminary contact during that summer window—reaching out to Leon’s agent, Mendes, perhaps gauging interest.

Such informal discussions were commonplace in football. After the 2011–12 season, Guardiola had made no secret of his admiration for Leon in the media.

Back then, Leon’s position at Madrid was rock solid. No one thought he was going anywhere.

But football is full of surprises. Everything changes in an instant, and opportunities can vanish just as quickly.

Who could guarantee Leon would spend his entire career at Madrid?

The idea had been simple: establish initial contact, express interest and admiration, and then wait. When the moment was right, make a decisive move.

That was Guardiola’s rough plan for recruiting Leon.

His new club, Manchester City, had money. A lot of money.

When Guardiola wanted a player, transfer fees were never the issue.

By mid-June of 2013, he was already daydreaming about building a team with Leon at City, shaping a side that embodied his footballing ideals.

He was even talking to Fabregas, persuading him to come join a new era under his leadership at the Etihad.

Then came the bombshell: Mourinho was returning to the Premier League, and Leon suddenly received bids from five or six of Europe’s biggest clubs.

Guardiola wasn’t worried about most of the competition—except Mourinho.

He didn’t know whether Mourinho, now back at Chelsea, would go all-in for Leon.

So he called his old rival directly and laid his cards on the table. Mourinho didn’t hide anything either.

Knowing Chelsea would push hard for Leon, Guardiola had no choice but to step back.

Unlike other clubs, City didn’t pursue Leon persistently that summer.

Financially, Chelsea could match City. Emotionally, Mourinho’s connection with Leon trumped everyone else’s.

So Guardiola backed off quickly. At the time, he felt disappointed—but not regretful.

Now, though, thinking back on it… he truly regretted it.

He regretted not making one final push, not sitting down face-to-face with Leon, not making a formal offer to Madrid.

He regretted thinking too far ahead.

If he’d gotten City to approach Madrid before Mourinho’s fallout with the club, the whole story might have ended very differently.

Sure, it was hindsight. But the more he thought about it, the more it pained him.

If City had contacted Madrid during that fragile time, under pressure from both Mourinho and Leon, maybe even President Pérez would’ve welcomed a bidding war with Chelsea.

Every time this crossed his mind, Guardiola couldn’t help but slap himself mentally.

Since joining City, he had assembled a strong midfield core.

It’s not that the players he had weren’t good—Fernandinho, for example, was world-class in the holding role.

But imagine if he had Leon and Fabregas anchoring his midfield now.

He genuinely believed he could’ve taken all of Europe by storm.

But what was done was done. The chance had passed, and there was no taking it back.

Guardiola let out a long, silent sigh, glanced at the match clock, and finally shook off the burden of memory. It was time to make his last tactical change.

”Fernando and Clichy off. Villa and Jovetić on. Manchester City now have only three defenders and one holding midfielder. Guardiola is burning his bridges—this is an all-or-nothing push!”

Even Premier League commentator Jun Zhi couldn’t help but express concern for Chelsea in the broadcast studio.

After all, Chelsea were still only leading by one goal.

If City threw everything forward and managed to equalize in the final moments, Chelsea could suddenly find themselves in serious trouble.

Momentum on the pitch is always a shifting force. A 1–0 lead is one of the most fragile in football.

Everyone had seen matches where a team held a narrow lead for most of the game, only to get flipped in the final minutes.

Chelsea fans were on high alert. If Mourinho wanted to park the bus, they wouldn’t complain.

As long as the team committed fully to the defensive effort—no hesitation, no half-measures.

That might mean subbing off someone like Hazard or De Bruyne for a more physically fresh defender like Maguire, Lampard, or Ramires.

That would certainly solidify the defense.

But Mourinho didn’t do any of that.

Instead, he shocked everyone by subbing off the exhausted De Bruyne for Salah—strengthening Chelsea’s counterattack capabilities.

The move left commentators and fans alike absolutely stunned.

Mourinho… not being conservative?

He was boosting his counterattack options in the final minutes, even as City went all-out?

And it wasn’t just Salah.

On Chelsea’s sideline, both Lukaku and Torres were warming up.

In that instant, even City’s players—fully committed to a high press—felt the weight of pressure shift.

Pushing hard against a counterattacking Chelsea?

That looked more like suicide than strategy…

But City had no other choice now.

A draw or a loss—it made no difference.

They had to throw everything at it in the final minutes.

Agüero and Jovetić pushed up to the very front of City’s formation.

Behind them, Villa and Fabregas searched for chances to make late runs or slip in killer passes.

Silva and Navas kept probing down the flanks, trying to stretch Chelsea’s defense with width and movement.

At this point, Guardiola had played all his cards. There were no more threatening attackers left on City’s bench.

All three substitutions had been used to bring on forwards.

If this didn’t work—if they still couldn’t score—then perhaps fate had simply made its decision.

Guardiola and Manchester City had already done everything they could.

The tempo of the match hit a fever pitch in the closing minutes.

Leon, having already picked up a yellow card earlier, was forced to tone down his defensive aggression.

Fortunately, Kroos and Matic had no such restrictions, and they both maintained strong, composed performances at the back.

Whenever a tactical foul was needed, they—and even Hazard or Ibrahimović, who had dropped back to help—stepped up without hesitation.

None of Chelsea’s players had any psychological burden about committing a tactical foul. It was part of the strategy, not personal.

But on the receiving end, City’s attackers began to lose their cool. Their frustration started boiling over.

Veterans like Fabregas knew better. There was no point getting into confrontations with Chelsea players—it only wasted valuable attacking time.

Even Agüero had managed to keep his emotions in check. He’d been fouled twice in quick succession and didn’t even bother to complain.

But Jovetić—young and impulsive—snapped.

After Kroos pulled him down from the side, and the referee only issued a stern verbal warning, Jovetić stormed up to protest.

Sensing an opportunity, Chelsea’s players immediately swarmed in to ”debate” with him.

Mascherano gave him a gentle shove, signaling him to back off and not interfere with the ref.

Jovetić, already on edge, shoved back—and in the process, his palm seemed to clip Mascherano on the chin.

Leon, just returning to the scene, was about to step in and defend Mascherano—but he didn’t have to.

Before he could do anything, Mascherano had already let out a dramatic cry and collapsed to the turf, clutching his jaw in apparent agony.

The scene descended into chaos.

Leon scratched his head and stood with hands on hips, watching as team captain Terry stormed toward the referee, demanding an explanation.

Fabregas led the City players in trying to calm things down, explaining to the ref that Jovetić’s action was unintentional.

Ibrahimović walked over calmly, linking arms with Leon and Kroos to form a protective barrier around Mascherano, preventing any City players from touching him.

After nearly a full minute of commotion, the referee called Jovetić over and issued a sharp warning.

Mission accomplished, Mascherano decided it was time to let it go. Rubbing his chin, he reached out a hand, and Leon helped him up from the grass.

Guardiola couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief, shaking his head. His assistant coach stormed toward the fourth official, lodging a complaint about Chelsea deliberately stalling the match.

Mourinho, however, didn’t even step in personally. He sent Holland to handle the official.

Out of view of the broadcast cameras, he winked discreetly at Mascherano and Leon.

Once again, the match was disrupted. Once again, City’s rhythm was thrown off. They had every reason to be furious, but nothing to do about it.

At least Jovetić seemed to have learned his lesson and stayed out of trouble after that.

Chelsea, meanwhile, pounced on City’s exposed back line, using Salah’s blistering pace to hit them with several dangerous long-ball counters.

But Joe Hart wasn’t some aging Victor Valdés.

Other than getting caught off guard by the De Bruyne–Ibrahimović wonder combo earlier, Hart had handled everything else Chelsea threw at him.

That included a pair of cannonball strikes from Leon and Matic, both of which Hart turned away with expert saves.

He might have a tendency to overcomplicate things sometimes, but when locked in, Hart remained one of the top five goalkeepers in world football.

Salah’s dribbling was electric, but his finishing still needed polish.

Hart denied him twice in the final minutes of Chelsea counters.

Still, those saves did little to generate any meaningful attacking momentum for City.

As stoppage time entered the fourth minute, Agüero received a cut-back from Villa at the top of the box and curled a shot toward the far corner.

But Cech, reading it all the way, extended a single arm and pushed it wide.

The referee immediately blew the final whistle.

1–0. A plain scoreline, but more than enough for Chelsea to record their second victory over Manchester City this season.

Leon didn’t tally a goal or assist this time, but he was still voted Man of the Match.

His controlled attacking in the first half was excellent, but it was his dominant defensive presence that left Premier League fans in awe.

After the game, many fans joked that the City players would be haunted in their dreams by Leon intercepting passes and snapping into tackles like a force of nature.

Relentless duels and a rock-solid defensive system continued to be Chelsea’s recipe for neutralizing technical teams.

And now, after this direct clash with City, their lead in the standings stretched to four wins—a further reinforcement of their dominance in the league.

Following the big win, Chelsea enjoyed a full week of rest, and the whole squad looked sharp and energized.

On February 7th, they traveled to Villa Park and absolutely dismantled Aston Villa in a 5–0 demolition.

Leon recorded both a goal and an assist. Ibrahimović bagged a brace, Hazard scored, and even substitute Lukaku got in on the action.

But despite the red-hot form of his starters, Mourinho opted for a massive rotation just four days later for Matchday 25.

Leon was one of eight starters given a full rest.

As a result, Chelsea were held to a 1–1 draw at home against Everton—just their second draw of the season.

After the game, Mourinho showed no signs of frustration. On the contrary, he looked relaxed and cheerful.

The journalists knew exactly why Chelsea had rotated so heavily.

Even though Leon sat on the bench for the full 90 minutes, he was still a prime interview target afterward.

And just like last year, when he stirred the pot before Chelsea’s Champions League clash with Barcelona, Leon didn’t disappoint the English media this time either.

When asked about facing Barça again this season, he had plenty to say.

”It’s a kind of fate, really. Even after leaving La Liga, I still get to go back and play at Camp Nou for two straight seasons. It’s a strange feeling.

Maybe the Barça fans don’t miss me… but honestly, around this time of year, I start to miss them a little.

Two trips to Camp Nou a year, and each one feels different.”

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