Pep Guardiola’s annus horribilis: Man City manager battles divorce and losing streak
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Pep Guardiola was once one of the most envied men in football. The 53-year-old Catalan football manager went from strength to strength in his career, with three titles claimed at Barcelona and Bayern Munich respectively, before going on to make history with Manchester City by winning the Premier League four seasons in a row. Oh, and he’s won the Champions League three times too.
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Many felt that watching Guardiola’s winning streak was like watching history: a chance to see another manager, not seen in the Premier League since the likes of Alex Ferguson, at the top of his game. In the 2017/18 season, his win streak lasted for 30 games. His power only seemed to intensify in recent years with the addition of high profile signings like Erling Haaland and Jack Grealish. His players were gods, his managerial prowess the stuff of legend.
Then it all came crashing down. In October 2024, Man City started to lose. A lot. Before this, the only time Guardiola had lost four successive games in a row was back in 2015, when he was manager at Bayern. As for City, the team hadn't lost four games in a row in any competition since 2006, two years before the historic Abu Dhabi takeover of the club and 10 years before Guardiola's arrival. By the end of November Pep had lost five successive games for the first time in his career. Man City dropped from top of the league to a current position of sixth.
This week it was revealed why Pep might be losing steam. The manager is separating from his wife and partner of 30 years, 52-year-old fashion businesswoman Cristina Serra. Guardiola met Serra in 1994 while he was still a midfielder for Barcelona and they were both teenagers. After falling in love at 18 years old, the couple stayed together throughout Pep’s rise to fame and eventually married in 2014.
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