Barcelona head coach Tito Vilanova has denied Pep Guardiola’s claims that the club used his illness against him.

Vilanova disappointed with Guardiola after his bitter comments

Guardiola, said recently that his former club used Vilanova’s battle with cancer to ‘damage’ him.

But Vilanova has denied it. Read what he said:

“I don’t think anyone from the board of directors used my illness to attack him and both my family and I are very pleased with the club’s attitude towards me,” Vilanova said on Tuesday.

“They’ve made things easy for us, they’ve tried to help us as much as they can.”

“I’ve had this feeling with all the people who are working for the club, both staff and players, have cared about me,” Vilanova said.

“My friends have cared about me. Some people have even taken a flight to visit me in New York.

“About Pep, I don’t like to talk about personal issues but I only saw him during a two-day visit that I made.

“Later on, when I went into surgery and I was under treatment, we didn’t see each other, and it wasn’t my fault.

“He’s my friend and I needed him then.

“Maybe he thought he didn’t have to be at my side.

“He acted this way, I would have acted differently.”

Barcelona president Sandro Rosell added:

“We were very surprised by his (Guardiola’s) comments. What he said about the board of directors and about Tito is completely false,” Rosell told 8TV.

“In the press archives you will see how the club has treated him, the best coach in the history of the club.”