Headline: Manchester City Faces Challenges During Disappointing 2024-25 Season
Manchester City navigated a difficult 2024-25 season marked by several significant challenges, including ongoing charges of alleged financial rule breaches and a long-term injury to key player Rodri.
Manager Pep Guardiola found himself in the spotlight for reasons beyond football, dealing with a personal divorce while there were increasing concerns over his mental welfare. After a disappointing 3-3 draw against Feyenoord in the Champions League in November 2024, Guardiola appeared with visible scratches on his head and nose, prompting media speculation regarding his state of mind.
While Guardiola has not acknowledged that his personal struggles impacted his professional duties, Manel Estiarte, a long-time member of his coaching staff, revealed in a new Amazon Prime documentary that he had to reassure players who were anxious about their manager’s behavior. “They were worried because Pep was anxious,” Estiarte stated. “He was sad. He was different. And only I knew the reason.”
Guardiola himself addressed his personal situation with the team during a Champions League loss to Juventus in December 2024. “Guys, I want to confess something,” he began. “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.” He emphasized the importance of passion in football, stating, “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.”
The documentary features moments where Guardiola diligently focuses on tactics, alongside scenes of him delivering candid speeches and expressing frustration towards his team. Following a defeat by Bayer Leverkusen in November 2025, Guardiola confronted his players directly, saying, “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? The performance you have done, all of you. It’s a disgrace guys.” He added, “When I see that, I am exhausted, I’m drained, I want to quit. When you play like this, I feel alone.”
Various issues were a backdrop for Manchester City’s disappointing campaign in 2024-25, including the charges for alleged breaches of Premier League financial rules hanging over the club and Rodri’s long-term injury.
Also, Pep Guardiola went through a divorce and there was media speculation about his mental state when he appeared with multiple scratches on his head and nose following a disappointing 3-3 Champions League draw with Feyenoord in November 2024.
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While the former head coach does not admit to the idea that his personal struggles affected his ability to do his job, Manel Estiarte, a long-time member of Guardiola’s technical staff, speaks about how he had to address players who were concerned by their manager’s behaviour in a new Amazon Prime documentary.
“They were worried because Pep was anxious,” he says. “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 himself broached the issue with his team during a Champions League loss to Juventus in December 2024.
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“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.”
Alongside scenes where he obsesses over tactics, there are many where he gives candid speeches and berates his team.
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Following a defeat by Bayer Leverkusen in November 2025, he tells his squad: “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?
“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.”
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