Guardiola admits: I threatened to kill my City players, and my divorce was because of them
The behind-the-scenes crises facing Pep at Manchester City
In an unprecedented scene revealing the scale of the collapse Manchester City experienced behind the scenes, Pep Guardiola unleashed his fury on his players with a fiery and shocking speech that went as far as hinting at resignation.
The new documentary "Beautiful Obsession", broadcast on Amazon Prime, sees the Catalan coach shed light on his last two years within the walls of the club. Across four episodes, its cameras captured a pivotal moment in November 2025, in the wake of the 0-2 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League.
The explosive speech
Guardiola could not contain his temper inside the dressing room. He shouted at his players, saying: "Guys, this is a disgrace, I've had enough, lads! You must all have the mentality of I'll prove to them that I'm the best, I'll prove to this failed coach that I'm better than the others. It's a competition between you, and where was that competition today?"
Bitterness dripped from his next words: "I feel sad, I feel disappointed in myself because of the stupid things I tried to do to make you feel safe, protected and confident, I feel like a fool."
A death threat
Reproach turned to severe rebuke as Guardiola laid bare the scale of his personal sacrifices: "I got here at eight in the morning, lads, I spent long hours trying to reach your hearts, and when I don't succeed, I feel deeply frustrated. You don't repay me. Do you know what will happen? You'll get another coach."
His tone then hardened into something his players were not used to: "If I see one sad face at the end of the season, I'll kill you. If I see your faces complaining about something when I make decisions, I'll kill you, damn it work harder, work better, live a better life."
Divorce and loneliness
The matter did not stop at the technical side. The documentary revealed the exhausting human side of the coach, and in a moment of painful honesty, Guardiola tied his players' lack of courage and commitment to his difficult family circumstances.
"You can lose, and I defend you a lot, but this lack of courage, passion, love and desire to win is unacceptable," he said. "I'm living my life, I'm going through my divorce circumstances, and my family is far from me because of you all, and what do I get in return? This shameful performance, it's a shameful thing, lads."
He closed with a sentence that summed everything up and shook the dressing room: "Damn it, I've had enough, when I see this performance, I feel exhausted and empty, I want to resign, I feel lonely, when you play this way, I feel lonely. You won't see me tomorrow."
