SUMMARY
- Pep Guardiola is one of the most succesful managers in the Premier League history.
- Joao Cancelo accused Pep of spreading lies about him.
Pep Guardiola is considered to be a generational talent in the field of soccer. The 53-year-old has made the arduous job of transitioning from playing to management look very easy.
The Spaniard has revolutionized the way soccer is played and has achieved success in whichever league he has managed. Pep Guardiola has won 11 league titles and 3 UEFA Champions Leagues in his managerial career.
PEP GUARDIOLA WINS HIS THIRD CHAMPIONS LEAGUE TROPHY 🏆
One of the best to ever do it 🐐 pic.twitter.com/xkfsZbjxtX
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) June 10, 2023
However, some of the incidents during his managerial stint have cast doubts over the greatness of the man. Many of his former players and certain anecdotes about the 53-year-old have suggested that Pep Guardiola is a pathetic liar. And one of the latest lying scandals of the Manchester City coach involves one of his brightest players.
Joao Cancelo terms Pep Guardiola a liar
The Portuguese right-back was booted out of Manchester City in the January transfer window of 2023. Joao then spent six months at German club FC Bayern Munich before going out on a season-long loan at FC Barcelona.
It was then suggested that Joao Cancelo had a fallout with Pep Guardiola and was unhappy with his game time. The 29-year-old had to sit on the bench a lot in the 22/23 season, as Pep started preferring Rico Lewis more for the right-back position.
There were reports of Joao Cancelo being a bad influence in the Man City dressing room that apparently upset the Spaniard coach. However, Pep Guardiola on the other hand, never appeared to discard the Portuguese player. He had constantly reassured the loan deal was a temporary measure and that his relationship with the player was fine.
🗣️ ‘Man City were ungrateful with me. Guardiola spread lies about me, that I was a bad teammate. Ask Aké or Rico Lewis, they know the truth. Yet the club never called out these lies, despite me being an important player’
– Joao Cancelo 😳 pic.twitter.com/QvwXMjaMua
— Mail Sport (@MailSport) March 24, 2024
However, Joao Cancelo has recently put up a bombshell announcement. He has accused Manchester City and Pep Guardiola of conspiring to defame him.
Joao Cancelo declared, “Man City were ungrateful with me. Guardiola spread lies about me, that I was a bad teammate. Ask Aké or Rico Lewis, they know the truth. Yet the club never called out these lies, despite me being an important player.”
It seems while Pep Guardiola was painting a picture that nothing was wrong between, him and Joao, the Spaniard from the background was spreading fake rumors about the Portuguese. The 29-year-old was left very affected by the Spaniard’s actions, as he felt he didn’t deserve such treatment after being such a loyal servant of the club. However, Joao Cancelo’s case proves that Pep Guardiola has a history of backtracking on his words.
Pep Guardiola lied about quitting Man City after financial breach allegations
Manchester City has a history of breaching financial rules. The team had been found guilty of breaching UEFA’s FFP rules in 2020 and was disqualified from participating in European club competitions for the next two seasons. The team was also handed a huge fine, but the English club was able to overturn both punishments. Pep Guardiola had made a bold promise during this time which had won him a lot of applauds.
The manager had spoken at a press conference and said that he was very inquisitive about the financial dealings. He also reportedly had asked the club authorities if the club wasn’t committing any financial wrongdoing. Pep Guardiola said (Football London), “When they are accused of something I ask them ‘tell me about that’, they explain and I believe them.”
However, he also had warned the club authority that if any allegations were proven to be true, Pep would be the first person to leave the club. The former FC Barcelona manager said, “I said to them ‘if you lie to me, the day after I am not here’. I will be out and I will not be your friend anymore.”
🚨 Manchester City WILL be relegated from the Premier League IF they are found guilty of their 115 FFP charges – but that is a big IF and remains unlikely.
(Source: Stefan Borson / @talkSPORT) pic.twitter.com/4nmyaSgdpU
— Transfer News Live (@DeadlineDayLive) January 19, 2024
While Pep Guardiola seemed like the embodiment of truth after the bold statement, his words would soon come to haunt him. Manchester City were charged with 115 counts of breaching the Premier League’s financial Fairplay rules. However, even after the severity of the crimes, Pep Guardiola vehemently refused to relinquish his position.
Pep declared that would manage ‘The Cityzens’ even if the club were relegated to the third tier of English soccer. He said (via Goal), “But absolutely I will not consider my future (if) it depends being here or being in League One.”
Manchester City’s punishment has still not been decided yet. However, the whole fiasco definitely raises questions about Pep Guardiola’s integrity. It is baffling to us how an elite manager like him can set such a bad precedent.
On one hand, he says that he is strictly against FFP breaches, while on the other hand, the 53-year-old refuses to resign even after his club is found guilty of a serious crime. Pep Guardiola should have considered resigning as Manchester City’s wrongdoings could potentially tarnish the manager’s legacy as well.
Pep Guardiola lied about leaving Manchester City in 2025
The Spanish manager was planning to leave Manchester City when his contract at the club ended in 2025. A journalist who was reportedly very close to the Spaniard had revealed this piece of information. According to the journalist, Pep and his coaching staff will leave the city of Manchester after their project ends in June 2025.
However the 53-year-old since then has changed his mind about leaving the club. He said at a press conference in late 2023, “I have energy,” hinting at a possible contract extension. Pep Guardiola would like to rebuild the club after some important players like Ilkay Gundogan, Riyad Mahrez, Aymeric Laporte, etc. had departed Manchester City in 2023.
Pep Guardiola is firmly minded to leave #ManCity in two years when his contract expires. The manager has all but decided that he will depart in summer 2025 and end his tenure after nine years.
[via @JamieJackson___]
— City Xtra (@City_Xtra) June 12, 2023
However, Pep Guardiola would have to backtrack on his words if he were to extend his stay with ‘The Cityzens’ beyond 2025. In our opinion, Pep Guardiola is afraid of Manchester City struggling to win titles without him and therefore wants to continue with the club for some more time. It would be interesting to see if Pep Guardiola signs another contract with Manchester City in the coming days.
The Spaniard was accused of racism by Yaya Toure
In an interview, Pep Guardiola was asked how he had created an environment of unity and brotherhood in the Manchester City dressing room. The 53-year-old answered the question by saying, “First of all the quality they have as human beings, first of all, first and foremost, otherwise we wouldn’t be here. But you have to cultivate it, you have to grow.”
Pep continues, “We have to still doing what you have to do to be better so also for the staff, the message I have I done is the same.” It seems from these lines, that the Spaniard is a very impartial coach who does not discriminate against his players. But as we have seen from other instances, Pep’s words and actions have miles of difference in between.
🎙️ Yaya Touré’s agent: “Pep Guardiola turned all of Africa against him. And I’m sure that many African shamans in the future will not allow Guardiola to win the #UCL. This will be for Guardiola an African curse. Life will show whether I am right or not.” pic.twitter.com/oFHk5wuK5m
— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) November 8, 2022
The Spaniard is reportedly very biased against African players, which also implies that he is a racist. Now these are not just blatant accusations, considering that one of his players has come forth to prove the statement.
Yaya Toure, who played under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City and FC Barcelona believes that he was treated unfairly by the 3-time UCL winner. He said, “He [Guardiola] insists he has no problems with black players, because he is too intelligent to be caught out. But when you realise that he has problems with Africans, wherever he goes, I ask myself questions. He will never admit it.”
The Ivorian accused Pep Guardiola of being jealous of him and ignoring him. Yaya Toure also challenged Pep Guardiola to put 5 African players in his starting lineup someday. According to him, the Spaniard likes to dominate his players and wants them to ‘lick his hands.’ Yaya Toure feels that he had to face the brunt and leave the club in 2018 despite being a club legend, as he wasn’t going to submit to Pep’s authority.
Such instances, prove that despite the positive media, Pep Guardiola in fact has some dark secrets inside him. He has lied about leaving Manchester City twice and then also racially abused a player, despite being a proponent of unity in the dressing room.
His actions will have the effect, that nobody in the future will take Pep’s words without a pinch of salt. Therefore, Pep Guardiola must realize his mistakes and apologize for them.