For some reason, Pep Guardiola‘s still upset about the fact his “idol” Julia Roberts went to a Manchester United match back in 2016.
No, we’re not making this up.
Despite the fact that during his time as Manchester City manager alone, the Catalan coach has lead his team to four Premier League titles, four EFL Cups, and one FA Cup, as well as clinching the coveted domestic treble in the 2018-19 season, and breaking countless records along the way, he admits he still considers himself to be a “failure”.
He may be considered one of the greatest football managers of all time, and he may currently hold the records for the most consecutive league games won in La Liga, the Bundesliga, and the Premier League – but that’s not enough for Pep to see himself as successful, apparently.
And it’s all because Hollywood megastar Julia Roberts snubbed the Sky Blues to make a trip over to the red half of Manchester one fateful day back in 2016.
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"I'm a failure… Julia Roberts went to see Man Utd, not us!" 💔
Pep Guardiola reveals Julia Roberts is one of his three idols, and that he'll never get over the actress going to see his city rivals when she visited Manchester 😔 pic.twitter.com/arRsfgNqsS
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) March 15, 2023
“I am a failure in the Champions League,” Guardiola said in his press conference last night after City smashed RB Leipzig 7-0 in the second leg of the Round of 16 in the Champions League.
“If I win the Champions League three times in a row, I will be a failure.”
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He then went on to “explain a secret” to the listening journalists, and revealed that he has three idols in his life – Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, and Julia Roberts.
“These are my three idols,” he added.
Julia Roberts with her family at Old Trafford in 2016 / Credit: Manchester United (via Twitter)
“Julia Roberts years ago came to Manchester, not in the 90s when Sir Alex (Ferguson) was winning titles and titles and titles. She came in the period where we were better than United, in these four or five years, right?
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“And she went to visit Man United. She didn’t come to see us.
“That’s why, even if I win the Champions League, it will not compare for the fact that Julia Roberts came to Manchester and didn’t come to see us.
“Even if I win the Champions League, it will not compare to this disappointment I had.”
The enigmatic manager has been known for saying some bizarre things in his press conferences and post match interviews throughout his career, but it’s fair to say this is up there as one of his most confusing – especially as he never actually went on to reveal why he considers Julia Roberts to be one of his idols.
Regardless of the lack of context, Manchester United still managed to have a bit of fun with it, and took to Twitter to rub it in.
The Red Devils shared a handful of pictures of actress and her family at their home stadium, with the caption: “Throwing it back to when Julia Roberts visited Old Trafford.”
And it doesn’t take a genius to work out this wasn’t a coincidental “throwback”.
Also in the same press conference, Pep explained explained why he chose to substitute record-breaking Erling Haaland after the star striker scored five goals in last night’s match – including two in two minutes, and a hattrick in the first half – before he had the chance to smash in another.
Manchester Remembers Foundation announces its return for a special anniversary charity match
Danny Jones
The Manchester Remembers Foundation has announced the return of its charity football game in 2027, which will coincide with a special anniversary close to all Mancunians.
For those unaware, the MCR Remembers charity matches were set up in memory of the Manchester Arena victims, helping raise funds for the families of the 22 who sadly died in the attack.
While the fifth iteration of what started out as an annual vision, set for this past summer, was sadly cancelled back in May and the Foundation itself seemingly shut down, the co-founders have decided they’re not ready for it all to end just yet.
Somewhat quietly confirming the return of the fundraising footy match on social media, the next fixture will be returning next year, which marks a full decade since the tragedy.
Folks, having time to reflect we’ve decided that we just couldn’t go out like we did. No matter how difficult things get we have to keep going.
We are planning a spectacular return for the 10th anniversary in 2027. Plans and talks to begin shortly pic.twitter.com/ZRTmAJalov
— The McrRemembers Foundation™️⚽️🐝 (@McrRemembers) October 2, 2025
Writing a slightly lengthier statement on Instagram, MCR Remembers creators Aaron Lee and Paul Corrigan said: “No matter how difficult things get and how little support we get from people in positions to help, we have to keep going.
“We take inspiration from the brave and courageous people who were so closely involved with the arena attack. We will continue to remember those affected and celebrate their legacy.
“We are planning a spectacular return for the 10th anniversary in 2027. Plans and talks to begin shortly We will reassess after that event. As always, thank you to those that stuck by us. We see you, and we appreciate every single one of you. Stay tuned. Aaron / Paul.”
Lee – a local and a former police officer on 22 May 2017 – set up the organisation with his friend and fellow fundraiser (10 marathons in 10 months) with the aim of not only honouring those lost but also to help raise vital funds for their families and native bereavement charities.
They’re two incredibly inspiring individuals who have done a lot to help those in and around Greater Manchester, as well as keep that date in our heads and hearts.
Although information is still scarce in these early stages, The MCR Remembers Foundation has assured that details regarding exactly when and where the game is set to take place will be shared over the coming week and months.
It goes without saying that we here at The Manc are glad to see the moving charity match being confirmed for a comeback, even if it’s only for a one-off, and can’t wait to see which ex-pros and celebrity players get involved.
Then again, who knows? A successful return could signal the start of a fully-fledged revival, and we sincerely hope it does.
Watch this space and see you next year for the anniversary edition of Manchester Remembers 2027.
The ‘most complained-about’ show in Britain over the last five years has been revealed
Danny Jones
The TV show with the most complaints in Britain over the past half-decade has seemingly been confirmed, and we can’t exactly say it’s given everyone watching a good morning…
Yes, it’s GMB.
Well, that’s according to research by Aura Print, anyway; they dug down into the official Ofcom data to try and discover which British TV programme got the most complaints – an unwanted accolade that was earned quite comfortably by Good Morning Britain.
This might not come as too much of a surprise to many of you, especially regular viewers over the last few years, with GMB often popping up in headlines alongside phrases like ‘viewers complain’ and ‘Ofcom’. Either way, here’s what the study found:
Rank
Programme
Service
Number of complaints (2021-2025)
1
Good Morning Britain
ITV1
91,890
2
Love Island
ITV2
66,252
3
Julia Hartley-Brewer
TalkTV
18,525
4
Dan Wootton Tonight
GB News
9,207
5
King Charles III: The Coronation
ITV1
8,389
6
This Morning
ITV
7,387
7
Celebrities: What’s Happened to Your Face?
Channel 5
7,082
8
Oprah with Meghan and Harry
ITV
6,456
9
I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!
ITV1
6,203
10
Jeremy Vine
Channel 5
4,982
11
Big Brother
ITV1 / ITV2
4,678
12
Lorraine
ITV
4,675
13
Breakfast with Kay Burley
Sky News
3,467
14
Emmerdale
ITV1
2,405
15
Vanessa
5
1,986
16
Loose Women
ITV
1,799
17
Married at First Sight UK
E4
1,748
18
Coronation Street
ITV
1,348
19
Lee Anderson’s Real World
GB News
1,668
20
Friday Night Live
Channel 4
1,630
21
Headliners
GB News
1,498
22
Ant Payne
Capital FM
1,430
23
Naked Education
Channel 4
1,413
24
The Brit Awards
ITV1
1,157
25
Today with Samantha Washington
Sky News
1,270
As you can see, GMB has racked up nearly 92,000 complaints over the past five years, which is well over 25k more than the next most inflammatory.
The rest of the top five is also made up of other mainstream news commentary programmes (four out of five), bar the second runner-up in Love Island, with 66,252.
It’s also worth noting that ITV is the most complained-about broadcaster of any network on the list. GB News came in second with three different shows on the list: Dan Wootton Tonight, Lee Anderson’s Real World and Headliners.
Certainly not surprising whatsoever was the particular episode that received the most complaints of all those in the history of Good Morning Britain, which went out on 8 March 2021.
In case you haven’t guessed which one this is already, it was the infamous Piers Morgan episode discussing Meghan Markle’s mental health, which was reported to Ofcom a whopping 57,973 times.
This feels like a lifetime ago, but we remember it receiving most Ofcom complaints Britain had ever seen at the time.
Yes, more than half of the complaints they have ever received come after ONE viral moment.
In terms of particularly divisive presenters, second only to Piers Morgan, Julia Hartley-Brewer was the next most complained-about presenter, racking up a total of 18,500 complaints.
GB News’ Dan Wootton came in at number three with 9,207 complaints, but also worth noting that plenty of what most would consider popular mainstream entertainment IPs like I’m A Celeb and Big Brother racked up over 10k collectively during this period.
You can find the full breakdown of Ofcom data from 2021-2025 right HERE.
Emily Sergeant -
15th March 2023 
