Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola shouted the word “f***” after being put on the spot by Thierry Henry at the Best FIFA Football Awards gala on Monday night. The Arsenal icon asked Guardiola to give his verdict on whether his current City team were better than the Barcelona team that dominated European football when he was in charge at the Nou Camp.
Guardiola picked up the first award of the evening as he was named FIFA Best Men’s Coach after leading his team to the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup treble last season ahead of their Club World Cup success in December.
Citizens stars Kyle Walker and Ruben Dias then paid tribute to their manager on the stage after the duo joined team-mates John Stones, Bernardo Silva, Kevin de Bruyne and Erling Haaland in the FIFPRO Men’s Best XI.
Guardiola, who was also on the stage at the time, was then told by Henry that the last time six players from the same team made it into the Best XI was when he was in charge of Barcelona. And after being asked which of the two sides should be deemed as the best, Guardiola exclaimed: “F***.”
The Spaniard then explained: “I don’t know, it will be a good game. Both are incredible teams. This team as well in England, in the Premier League is really really tough and competitive in many competitions.
“These guys seasons by season by season. Even this season after winning the treble we are there. I wake up in the morning and just go in there just to prepare or dream or whatever. Being with them – not winning or losing – that is the best award I can get as a manager by far.”
Guardiola, who led Barcelona to three La Liga titles and two Champions League trophies during his time at the Nou Camp and has since won five Premier League titles in England, added: “Thank you so much to our players for what they have done for eight years together. Thank you so much for this incredible journey.”
And discussing his boss, Dias told the audience: “He is intense. In the end he makes you play football in a way that no-one else is able to and somehow through that intensity he does get the best out of everyone. You can have different personalities as coach but the one you want is the one that gets the best out of you.”
