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For the first time in a long time, Manchester City and their manager Pep Guardiola — who’ve won four straight Premier League campaigns on the back of a decade-plus-long accumulation of wealth and assets at an exorbitant, unnatural rate due to its oil state funding — are facing some adversity.
Consistently one of the best soccer teams in the world, Man City has failed to win in six straight games (losing five), and have lost three straight matches in the Premier League, which is a shocking run of form for the team.
Following their latest debacle, botching a 3-0 lead with just 15 minutes to play against Feyenoord in the Champions League, Guardiola seemed quite unhinged in his postgame interview, as we was sporting scratches all over his face that he said came from wanting to “harm himself.”
Guardiola’s strange interview immediately went viral and prompted the legendary manager to publish an apologetic statement saying that he did not intend to make light of-self harm,
‘I want to harm myself’ 👀 Pep asked about the cuts on his nose and head pic.twitter.com/VQVCQ9brzy
— BeanymanSports (@BeanymanSports) November 26, 2024
“I was caught off guard with a question at the end of a press conference last night about a scratch which had appeared on my face and explained that a sharp fingernail had accidentally caused this. My answer was in no way intended to make light of the very serious issue of self harm. I know that many people struggle with mental health issues every day, and I would like to take this moment to highlight one of the ways in people can seek help, by calling the Samaritans hotline on 116 123 or emailing jo@samaritans.org”
My answer was in no way intended to make light of the very serious issue of self harm. (2/3)
— PepTeam (@PepTeam) November 27, 2024
Guardiola’s claim that he was “caught off guard” certainly stretches credulity as it’s difficult to imagine not expecting being asked a question about the giant scratches on your face that appeared between the end of the match and the start of the press conference.
Making matters worse for City and Guardiola is the fact that their next matchup is against first place Liverpool at Anfield, a place where Guardiola has never won (when fans are in the stadium). If Liverpool win that game, they’ll go 11 points clear of City at the top of the Premier League, a notable gap for this stage of the season.
Earlier this month, Guardiola signed a one-year contract extension with Man City that will take him through the end of the 2025/26 season.