Pep Guardiola believes it will be “difficult” to manage another football team after Manchester City, as the job was so demanding that it impacted his family life and has left him exhausted.
In his first interview since leaving the job after 10 years and 20 trophies, Guardiola admitted he quit feeling tired and with issues to address following the separation with his wife Cristina Serra at the end of 2024. He told his players the reason for their split was that they “lost the passion”.
Guardiola on his future
Looking ahead, Guardiola, 55, said: “I don't even know myself what I'm going to do, honestly. But for sure I will not be…it will be difficult to come back. That’s my feeling today. It will be difficult to come back.
“I need to refresh many things that happened in my personal life. And professional, what I’ve found, I need to find myself a little bit in different things. Especially sitting and seeing the time go by. Or the time cross in front of you.”
He then said: “There is a word in Catalonia, it’s called ‘badar’,” and sat back looking zoned out and relaxed. Badar means to sit like this right? So I’ll do that. That is one of the main targets I want to do.” He added: “Life is not just football right? It should be sleep until 10 one day. And go to the cafeteria or take two days off. Walk? I dunno, do whatever you want. I don’t have time to read, to watch series, to travel, it’s too much to be honest.”
Inside the documentary
The interview is part of a new four-part Prime Video documentary - A Beautiful Obsession - about his final two seasons in charge of the club and the incredible impact he had in Manchester. It features some extraordinary scenes in the dressing room, where Guardiola at times instigated hugging sessions before matches to help bond with the players, but would also criticise them angrily when things went badly wrong and admit they left him feeling “so f**king tired” in defeat he sometimes wanted to kill them.
Guardiola even mentioned his marriage breakdown in one bizarre team talk to try to inspire them. In December 2024 when they lost 2-0 to Juventus in the Champions League, Pep is shown in the dressing room saying: “Guys, I want to confess something. I'm f***ing divorced from the most beautiful woman in your planet.
“It's 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 loves me? Yeah. But we lost the passion.
“How you play football? Because you play or because you have something inside. What is the passion? In your life, whatever you are going to do. Do it with passion. I don’t want good players, I want players with passion.”
Spanish reports in January 2025 said Serra, who had been with Guardiola since 1994 and married since 2014, wanted to stay in Barcelona to concentrate on her fashion business. But the pair, who have three children, are still on friendly terms.
Emotional moments and future hopes
Former Barcelona player and coach Guardiola was furious in the dressing room a year later - and floated the idea of City getting a new manager to the players - when the club lost 2-0 to Bayer Leverkusen in a Champions League the following season in November 2025. The match had seen him make 10 changes and give some players on the fringes of the team a starting place. But he was close to tears at the defeat, seemingly blaming himself but also the lack of courage and commitment of the squad players to step up and perform.
He said: “Maybe I should apologise for the fact I made ten substitutions. But it’s impossible to play football without courage. I’m going to win the game, I’m going to show this f**king b*stard manager that I am better than the other guys.
“In the end it’s a competition between each other guys. Where is the competition today? I feel sad. I feel disappointed for myself, for the incredibly stupid thing I try to do. To make you safe, to make you secure, to make you confident to do it.
“I arrive here at eight O’clock in the morning and I stay for hours and hours trying to find something to arrive here in your heart. And when I don’t get it, it’s frustrating. And you know what is going to happen? You will have another manager.”
He went on to say that if he saw the players complain about one of his decisions for the rest of the season he would “f**king kill them”.
Tearfully he added: “Work harder, work better, live better. I defend you many times but it’s unacceptable. Lack of courage, passion and love. I leave my life, my divorce and my family is away and everything for all of you. And what do you give back? The f**king performance you have done, all of you.
“It’s a disgrace guys. F**king hell, I am really f**king tired. When I see that I’m exhausted, I’m drained. I want to quit. When you play like this I feel alone.”
The intense negative comments never seemed to last long though. During other games he repeatedly told the players he loved them and how proud he was of them and would embrace them before and after games. He also cried tears of joy after success winning trophies as well as tears of despair when they lost the league to Arsenal earlier this year, but praised his squad for pushing them to the final games of the season.
On one occasion he played the players a video of their goal celebrations with the Bee Gees song ‘You Win Again’ in the background and told them to celebrate more and for longer when they scored.
“The kindness and the love and the passion and everything you’re doing. Everyone is connected,” he said grinning watching the screen and singing along as the music played.
Seen by most in the game as genius, he is also shown obsessively using the tactics board and even using videos at half time from the first half of games to make small changes in pursuit of victory.
The documentary covers the final two seasons of relentless Pep’s reign at Manchester City. By this time they had won six premier league titles including four back to back, as well as the Champions League in 2023. But the last two seasons were less successful, even though he won two domestic cups last season, they didn’t win the league again and were in a stage of rebuilding the team.
Manchester City fan and Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher compares what happened to his own band and their first three smash hit albums followed by a less successful period. He said: “You could be the greatest songwriter in the f**king world. At one point, every single thing you write becomes part of the furniture.
“Then all of a sudden, you can’t write for s**t anymore. You don’t know why. You’re not doing anything different. It’s just you have your time and the world moves on.”
At the end of his final season in charge this year, Pep is seen telling the players the reason for his exit is simple “you have to have something that I had, the energy” he adds that “deep inside I will not have anymore”.
Pep’s family were all present for his last game with Manchester City in May including his father and ex-wife and Pep said he felt “emotion for my dad, 95, being there. Cris, the most important woman of my life, and my kids being there, it was so special for me.”
Those closest to him hope he will now take at least a rest before taking on a new challenge. Txiki Bergiristain who worked alongside Pep and was City’s former Director of Football, said: “I don't know what he's going to do. He needs rest and he needs to see that outside there is a life after football.
“If he meets only football people, he is going to always be on the same rollercoaster he has been living. He needs time out, really out.”
Looking back on his time at Manchester City, Guardiola seems satisfied and previously made an emotional goodbye video for fans praising them and his love of the club and the city.
He said: "What I'm proud of most is the history that we leave, you know? We saw with our eyes here in front of us. And that time…it was so fun. And the people were so happy to see that team play."
Despite his apparent reluctance to return to football management, in another interview segment of the documentary, he admits it is “addictive” when you are a manager and things go well and you are watching your team performing and almost constantly winning, as he did for many seasons.
“Older managers retire and they come back and come back,” he says with a grin. “They cannot live without it.”
A Beautiful Obsession launches on Prime Video on Wednesday August 19.
