Pep Guardiola Reveals How His Divorce Affected Man City in Explosive Dressing-Room Speech

Pep Guardiola opened up about the pain of his marriage breakdown in an emotional and furious team talk, telling Manchester City players that he had lost the “passion” in his own life — and demanding that they rediscover it on the pitch.

The previously unseen footage appears in the four-part documentary A Beautiful Obsession, which explores Guardiola’s final period as Manchester City manager.

The Spaniard is shown addressing his players after City’s 2-0 defeat to Juventus in the Champions League. In an unusually personal moment, he tells the squad about his split from Cristina Serra, describing how much he still loved his former wife while acknowledging that their relationship had lost its passion.

“I’m f***ing divorced from the most beautiful woman on your planet,” Guardiola tells the players. “It’s my wife — my ex-wife. I love her unbelievably. But we lost the passion.”

He continues by drawing a direct comparison between his personal life and the players’ performances.

“For many reasons, we lost the passion. I love her absolutely.

“She loves me, yeah, but we lost the passion. And it’s how you play football. You play because of something inside — but where is the passion?”

Guardiola then delivers his message to the squad.

“In your life whatever you are going to do, do it with passion. I don’t want good players, I want players with passion.”

‘You Will Have Another Manager’

The documentary also revisits Guardiola’s emotional state following City’s 2-0 home defeat to Bayer Leverkusen in November 2025.

Once again, he speaks openly about the sacrifices he had made for the club and his family.

“I leave my life, my divorce, my family is away — and everything for all of you,” he tells his players.

“And what do you give back. The f***ing performance you’ve just done — all of you.

“It’s a disgrace, guys, and you know what’s going to happen. You will have another manager.”

A source described the footage as revealing the extent of Guardiola’s emotions surrounding his relationship with Cristina.

A Marriage Under Strain

Guardiola and Cristina had been married for 10 years. She moved to Manchester with their three children when he became City manager in 2016.

However, signs of strain had emerged years earlier.

In 2019, Cristina returned to Barcelona, leaving Guardiola living alone in a city-centre apartment.

She was also reportedly upset when Guardiola appeared to reverse plans to leave Manchester City and instead agreed to a contract extension in November 2024.

News of their separation was first reported by Spanish newspapers in January 2025. Their split had taken place in December 2024.

The documentary shows Guardiola returning to the subject of his divorce months later, making clear that the personal upheaval was something he was still dealing with.

Guardiola, 55, is reportedly hopeful that he and Cristina, 53, could eventually reconcile.

Spanish journalist Lorena Vazquez suggested that the possibility had not been completely ruled out.

“They’re leaving the door open to reconciliation. It could be that one day, when Pep retires and returns to Barcelona, they could resume their relationship,” she said.

‘You’re Seeing a Human Being’

Guardiola’s close confidant Manuel Estiarte, Manchester City’s director of First Team Operations, also explains why he felt the players needed to understand what their manager was experiencing away from football.

“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 sometimes be a bit up and down.

“You’re seeing a human being. He’s getting a divorce. This is a topic I don’t want to talk about too much because it’s personal.

“But it was necessary for the team not only to visualise Pep as a manager but for the first time to see Pep as a human being.”

The documentary later cuts to Guardiola speaking from his office about the changes he had experienced in his personal life.

“In my life I’ve made a lot of changes lately, right? So I’ve got divorced and I have to settle a bit,” he says.

Asked whether he is a happy man, Guardiola gives a brief but revealing answer:

“In my job, yeah.”