Pep Guardiola used his divorce to motivate Man City stars in furious rant

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FT Desk

Pep Guardiola mentioned the collapse of his marriage in a furious rant at Manchester City players last season.

The Spaniard is one of the most successful head coaches in the history of football and his influence on the English game was unmatched during his time in the Premier League.

The Catalan became Manchester City manager in 2016 and turned them into one of the best teams in the world. During his time at the club, he won 20 trophies, including six Premier League titles, three FA Cups, five League Cups and one Champions League.

His biggest achievement came in 2022–23, when City won the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League Treble. He also led the club to an unprecedented four Premier League titles in a row.

After a decade in charge, it was confirmed towards the end of the 2025/26 campaign that Guardiola would be leaving City.

A new Amazon Prime documentary, A Beautiful Obsession, details his final two years in charge at the Etihad and it was a tumultuous time for the club and for him personally, as in 2025 he divorced his wife of 11 years, Cristina.

Manel Estiarte, a long-time member of Guardiola's technical staff, describes in the documentary how the City players were worried about their coach without knowing what was going on.

"They were worried because Pep was anxious," he said

"He was sad. He was different. And only I knew the reason.

"And I said to the team, 'please, you have to understand, you're not playing with a coach who can be a bit impulsive, who can be a bit intense, who can be sometimes up and down. You're seeing a human being. He's getting a divorce'."

Guardiola would eventually tell his players about the divorce following a Champions League defeat to Juventus.

"Guys, I want to confess something," he said.

"I'm divorced from the most beautiful woman on your planet, my wife, my ex-wife. I love her unbelievably, but we lost the passion. For many reasons, we lost the passion.

"I love her? Yeah, absolutely. She love[s] me? Yeah. But we lost the passion. How [do] you play football? Because you play over something inside. Where is the passion? In your life, whatever you're going to do, do it with passion. I don't want a good player, I want players with passion."

Later, after City lost 2-0 at home against Leverkusen in the Champions League, he chastised his players for their performance, even mentioning what he was going through in his personal life.

"I work for you and I leave my life, my divorce and my family is away and everything for all of you. And what do you give back?" he questioned.

"The performance you have done, all of you. It's a disgrace guys.

"When I see that, I am exhausted, I'm drained, I want to quit. When you play like this, I feel alone."

On numerous occasions, Guardiola threatened that the players would get a new manager if performances did not improve.

In 2026, he was replaced by former assistant Enzo Maresca at the helm of Man City.