Pep Guardiola suffered one of his worst results as Manchester City manager in the Champions League on Wednesday evening as his side lost 3-1 to Real Madrid.
Manchester City looked bereft of ideas on the night, they lacked energy, passion, and, most concerningly, ability.
Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva were criticised after the game, while Pep Guardiola wasn’t blameless either.
Speaking on CBS, Guillem Balague has been discussing Guardiola’s demeanour after the game.
Balague knows Guardiola better than almost any journalist on the planet having spent a lot of time with him and even writing a book with him.
However, Balague noticed something off about Guardiola after the Real Madrid game, claiming that he felt like the manager was on autopilot after this match, not speaking with much emotion or passion.
Guardiola is often one of the most emotive men in football, particularly after a defeat, but, on Wednesday, he appeared quite numb.
What Pep Guardiola was like after Real Madrid loss
Balague spoke about his interaction with Guardiola after the Real Madrid game.
According to the journalist, Guardiola was speaking without much emotion after the match, claiming that the manager’s brain had seemingly been put on automatic mode.
“I spoke to Pep after the game, I have to tell you, I’ve spoken to him many times, we’ve done a book together. Today it felt like he was talking, like he’d been put on automatic in his head. He was talking without feeling. It was all about we have to keep working, congratulating Real Madrid, it was that discourse,” Balague said.
How close Pep Guardiola was to leaving Manchester City
Balague made another interesting claim about Guardiola on CBS.
According to the journalist, many within Manchester City and Guardiola’s inner-circle believed this would be his last season at Manchester City coming into this campaign.
In fact, according to Balague, at one point, it looked as though there was a 70% chance that Guardiola would take the England job.
The FA wanted Guardiola to replace Gareth Southgate last year.
“I’ll tell you something interesting. Everyone felt this would be Pep Guardiola’s last season, including at the club. Perhaps even his closest people felt the same. The FA in England felt that he was going to become the England national manager. It was 70-30 in September or so in favour of England. But he saw he was going to leave behind a team with no energy,’ Balague said.
Guardiola ultimately ended up signing a new contract, committing to another two years in Manchester.
However, it does seem as though Guardiola is going through some tough times right now, and if this continues, the Spaniard could well end up burning out and opting to leave before his contract is up.
This is certainly the roughest period Guardiola has experienced since becoming City boss.
