If I could ask Pep Guardiola one last question, what would it be? It’s not something I know the answer to yet despite having months to prepare for the likelihood of him leaving this summer, and now faced with the reality of there being only one final pre-match press conference with the Spaniard as Manchester City manager. I can’t even begin to think about how many questions I’ve already posed to Pep since his arrival. Often four press conferences a week around matches, with a
fair few sit-down interviews and the very occasional (and very brief) chat when the cameras are off must put the figure in the thousands. I can be more certain on the number he told me were ‘good’ questions, though, as I can add them up with the fingers on one hand. During the last 10 years, I’ve probed him on almost every subject imaginable, met with varying degrees of success, and there were plenty of occasions when he was happy to show his irritation at
my line of questioning. How Pep Guardiola transformed English footballMan City transfer news | Watch FREE PL highlightsGot Sky? Watch Man City vs Aston Villa LIVE on your phone📱Not got Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW 📺 A couple of years into his tenure Man City agreed we could use our ‘host broadcast’ access to get a live interview with Pep straight after the press conference, and I remember distinctly one occasion where he asked the press officer whether he
could just not do it and take the fine instead (even though it would have cost him around £20,000). The press officer convinced him to stay and talk to us after the ad break but it became a running joke among the Manchester press pack how much he disliked me – even if it wasn’t entirely true.As time has gone on he’s generally grown more relaxed with the English media and come to understand our obsession with the emotion of the game above all else.
Smiles have been more frequent, jokes have been more inclusive, self-deprecation has felt more sincere.As much as Pep has learnt to play to the audience in the media theatre at the club’s training ground, he’s always been incredibly bright and engaging one-to-one. Recently his eyes lit up when I concluded an interview by asking him about his memories of playing at the old Wembley and helping Barcelona win their first European Cup in 1992. On the right topic he’s never far away from the child
training at La Masia dreaming of one day lifting a trophy for the famed Barcelona. You see a similar sparkle when you ask him about his mentor Johan Cruyff, or what it was like to work with Lionel Messi or a young Phil Foden.It’s genuinely hard to imagine walking into the first press conference of next season and Pep not sitting in the chair. His legacy is visible all around Manchester City, from the trophy count to the pictures that adorn the walls of his
teams celebrating so many titles. The club feels almost unrecognisable, even from the one he walked into in 2016, let alone the one that was relegated from the Premier League 25 years ago this month. In 10 years at the helm he has more than doubled the total number of major trophies this club has won in its history, dating all the way back to their first FA Cup in 1904. That’s an incredible statistic in itself, before you consider all of the records he’s
broken in English football.There’s not much Pep hasn’t been asked at one point or another over the last decade so it might be too much of a stretch to find something original to ask him when the final day comes. Professionally, I’ve enjoyed the back and forth with him – although I’ll steer clear of asking him about transfers as that was always guaranteed to set him off. Maybe I’ll just ask him how he really feels about all of us in the media, and
whether or not he now loves us as much as we’ve grown to love him. Watch Man City vs Aston Villa live on Sky Sports Action on Sunday; kick-off 4pm
Pep Guardiola, Manchester City, press conference, La Masia, Johan Cruyff, Lionel Messi, Phil Foden, Wembley 1992, FA Cup 1904, Premier League relegation 25 years ago
So he’s leaving already? Didn’t feel like it was that serious lol.
I mean they keep saying “could step down” but like is this a done deal or clickbait. Pep’s been checked out for a while in my opinion. If he goes, does the team just magically get worse or better?
Wait, I thought Guardiola leaving was only rumors. The article sounds like a reporter buddying up and being like “one last question” like that matters. Also the part about him taking a fine… who cares, pay the fine and move on. This is all just press drama.
If he steps down this weekend then it’s probably because of some transfer stuff, right? Like the players don’t listen, he gets mad at the media, then he disappears. But also I read somewhere he already agreed to stay? Idk. All I know is Man City press conferences are boring and if he’s mad at questions that’s his own fault. Feel like this is bigger than soccer though, like politics in the club or something.