Pep Guardiola had very little time for journalists and speculation on Tuesday night following Manchester City’s 1-0 win over Brentford as he had no time hesitation in telling a media member, “My life is better than yours” in his post-match press conference.
A bit brutal? Perhaps. Funny though? Most definitely.
After one reporter decided to ask him the question, “What’s wrong with being a journalist?” in response to an earlier remark made by Guardiola at the start of the presser, he had a very quick and amusing answer that has unsurprisingly gone viral on social media.
He doesn’t mince his words, does he, ‘r Pep?
Reporter: What’s wrong with being a journalist? 🤨
Pep: I’m a manager, my life is better than yours so… 😂
The short-lived tête-à-tête transpired as a result of the sports writer questioning why the 53-year-old Man City manager brought up journalists in an earlier answer in which he suggested to another reporter in the room how he never wanted to be in the profession, personally.
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The press conference started with questions about Erling Haaland whose return to the scoresheet saw City get over the line on the night but who had been struggling a little to be as clinical with his goalscoring chances of late.
When asked if he would have liked anyone other than the big number nine running through on goal, Pep responded: “When I was young… never, ever as a person was [I] a journalist, I’m not and I will not be, so [when] top scorers score a lot of goals, don’t criticise — he will shut your mouth, that’s for sure.”
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Sticking up for his star striker further, he also noted that Haaland had been out injured for two months and had “an incredibly tough week” after losing his grandmother. Nevertheless, the journalist still rolled the dice on asking his question and, well, you can see the full awkward exchange in glorious HD here.
He reminded the journo that it’s not always easy to be a ‘human being’ and that there’s plenty more going on beyond football.
l mean, comparatively as a multi-millionaire former footballer, treble-winner and one of the best coaches to ever walk the Earth, he’s absolutely right and he was clearly trying to lead those in the room away from quizzing him on the 23-year-old recent form — we just weren’t expecting to such a swift roast.
The Blues are now sat in second place just one point behind leaders Liverpool having played the same amount of fixtures and with a very similar goal difference.
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With Arsenal just a point behind them and even Aston Villa giving it a good go at the front of the chasing pack in the European places, it’s looking like the season is going to go right down to the wire.
You can watch the highlights from Man City’s hard-fought Premier League win over Brentford down below:
He’s still on for the Golden Boot with 17 goals in the league, by the way — hardly a measly tally.
Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
Sport
Multiple arrests made for ‘tragedy chanting’ and police officer assault as Man City defeated Liverpool
Emily Sergeant
Multiple people were arrested over the weekend as Manchester City defeated Liverpool in a Premier League clash.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that a total of 10 people were arrested during the policing operation at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield as they hosted Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police constable, five were on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, two for affray, and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.
Police are now appealing to the public, and are particularly looking to speak to witnesses of the assault of the officer.
At around 6:35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a ‘serious facial injury’ during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment but is now recovering at home.
Investigating officers are now conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses, and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage.
Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said it’s ‘extremely disappointing’ that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out their duty.
“I hope the arrests send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others,” Chief Inspector Hobin continued. “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.
“Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation.”
Manchester City ended up defeated Liverpool 3-0 during the Premier League clash at Anfield.
Danny Jones -
21st February 2024 
