Pep: Barcelona, Real Madrid Would Have Fired Me

Pep Guardiola, the coach of Manchester City, said that if he had done the same thing with Barcelona or Real Madrid as he did with Manchester City last season, he would have been fired.

City endured their poorest season since Guardiola took over in 2024-25. The four-time Premier League champions finished third in the league, 13 points behind champions Liverpool. City didn’t do well in the UEFA Champions League either; Guardiola’s team was knocked out early in the tournament.

City did quite poorly between October and the middle of December, losing nine of the 13 games they played. However, the club’s administration still believed in Guardiola and gave him another contract.

Guardiola thinks he would have been fired if he had played the same way for Barcelona or Real Madrid.

“I wouldn’t be coaching in October, November, or December if this were Spain.” Guardiola remarked, “If this were Barça or Madrid, they would have fired me.”

“But here, it wasn’t even a question. He said, “You need to be a little more patient.”

Guardiola said, “Look at Carlo Ancelotti, who left Madrid to coach the Brazil national team.”

“Take a look at Carlo Ancelotti. “Four days ago, he won the Champions League and La Liga. Now he’s going to coach in Brazil,” the City boss said.

City is already backing Guardiola in the transfer market for next season by adding Rayan Aït-Nouri, Rayan Cherki, and Tijjani Reijnders.