Tim Ream has said he’ll be able to tell his grandkids about an encounter he had with Pep Guardiola after a Fulham-Manchester City match last fall.
The story was originally recounted by then-U.S. men’s national team head coach Gregg Berhalter after Ream was selected for the 2022 World Cup roster.
“Tim Ream just played against Man City and after the game, Guardiola walks up to him and says, ‘If you were 24 instead of 34, you’d be playing for me,’” Berhalter said.
“So Tim said, ‘It’s too bad I’m not 34, I’m 35.’”
Speaking to Pro Soccer Wire, Ream called Berhalter’s version of the story “pretty accurate” and said the run-in with City’s manager took place in the tunnel of Etihad Stadium after Erling Haaland had scored a stoppage-time penalty to give City a 2-1 win.
“I was heading to the bus and [Guardiola] stopped me and said that,” Ream said. “For me, I wouldn’t say it’s the culmination, because I’m not finished playing, but to have a manager of that caliber, a manager of that quality stop and recognize what you’re doing is pretty cool.”
Ream said Guardiola may have been flying high after City’s win, but was still happy the manager felt compelled to offer some praise to “an old guy” who turned out to be even older than he thought.
“Some may see it as a backhanded compliment and it very well could have been,” Ream added. “I’m sure he was feeling good after they scored a 90-plus minute penalty to win the match and he felt like dishing out a compliment to an old guy.
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“It’s a pretty cool anecdote to have for myself in my career, just to have that recognition that somebody of his quality recognizes that you are doing something in a really good way. It was a pretty cool moment that I’ll be able to take. Obviously I told my kids, and I’ll tell my grandkids when he’s still managing in potentially 20 to 30 years.”
Ream had a stellar campaign with Fulham, starting every game and captaining the Cottagers until he suffered a broken arm in the reverse fixture against City on April 30.
The center back also started all four of the USMNT’s World Cup matches, though that arm injury will keep him out of national team action this summer.
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