All the worrying signs something was wrong with Pep Guardiola as he ‘splits from his wife after 30 years together’: From that bizarre scratching incident to ranting at fans… is this why Manchester City are struggling?

Pep Guardiola’s end to 2024 has been tumultuous on and off the pitch.

Manchester City’s form has nosedived and now it has emerged that he and his wife have reportedly split up having lived in different countries for five years.

Until this season this 860 mile separation – Pep in Manchester and his Cristina in Barcelona with their children – coincided with a golden age for City and its boss.

But last night it emerged that Mr and Mrs Guardiola have reportedly decided to end their marriage, although friends have said it is ‘friendly and cordial’ and they spent Christmas together with their children Maria, 24, Marius, 22, and Valentina, 17.

In recent months City went on the worst run in their manager’s golden career after a record four straight Premier League titles and a historic Champions League win.

Off the pitch Pep has been involved in a series of spats off with football fans who have upset him by asking him for autographs or goaded him after defeats.

There were also worrying comments about self-harm after he admitted scratching his own head and face until it bled during the final moments of City’s collapse against Feyenoord in November. He also spoke of the loneliness of football management as City slumped to sixth in the league with six losses, including four in a row.

Guardiola’s assessment may have taken on greater significance amid reports in Spain emerged on Monday that he has separated from his wife Cristina Serra after 30 years. They met when they were 18, in 1994, and married in 2014.

And while his place as one of football’s greatest coaches is undisputed, despite a poor start to this season, the grief of splitting with his wife, his childhood sweetheart, will also have been causing him more pain.

Off the pitch rows

Footage emerged last night of Pep Guardiola launching into an X-rated tirade against serial autograph hunters who targeted him for signatures near his home.

He also had to be dragged when goaded by a Liverpool fan and was angry when he was stopped while enjoying a solo bike ride in Manchester. 

In the autograph row Guardiola told the middle-aged men to ‘go back to school’ as he vented his annoyance at their actions while going about his day in Manchester city centre. 

Dressed in a stylish hoodie and tracksuit combination, an animated Guardiola waved his arms as he warned: ‘Don’t come again, I won’t tell you again, I know your faces.

‘Go to school and prepare yourself guys. You are young guys so don’t be here, wasting time,’ Guardiola told the awkwardly-stood trophy hunters clutching replica shirts.

‘Do you want to live your life doing this honestly,’ he added. A despondent individual could be heard quietly replying ‘No, I used to be a chef’ while the six-time Premier League winning manager continued his rant.

Guardiola continued: ‘Let’s continue to do it. Prepare better. F***ing hell man, this isn’t for all the people this is for you.

‘What are your dreams? Tell me, what is it? Where do you dream my friend? Practice, f***ing hell, practice,’ he added while attempting to urge the bystanders to clear out from the area.

The Man City boss had seen his side surprisingly upset by rivals Manchester United in the FA Cup final last May, with the Spaniard later showing his frustrations in a confrontation after the match with a Liverpool fan.

A video emerged in December of the confrontation, months after the incident occurred, with Guardiola needing to be held back after being heckled in Manchester.

The goading supporter had said ‘right mate, just ’cause you lost’, perhaps due to not being acknowledged as Guardiola walked by.

At that point Guardiola turned around and approached the individual recording the video before being restrained and led away.

Guardiola could be heard in the video saying ‘do you know what is lost?’ multiple times before he is led away by two members of his entourage.

The Man City boss, who is in his 12th consecutive year of management without a break, insisted he felt refreshed ahead of the new campaign when on Man City’s tour in the United States.

‘If you love what you do, why should I stop?’ he said in July. ‘I like it – as much (now as when) they hired me – so let’s go.’

Self harm joke

Guardiola had prompted concerns during the run after appearing with scratches on his forehead after his side threw away a 3-0 lead to draw with Feyenoord in the Champions League.

‘Yes, it’s from my nail on my finger,’ Guardiola replied when asked about the cuts. ‘I cut myself with my fingernail (during the game).

He then stated as he left his press conference ‘I want to harm myself’, before quickly issuing an apology for the statement on social media.

‘I was caught off guard with a question at the end of a press conference last night about a scratch which had appeared on my face and explained that a sharp fingernail had accidentally caused this,’ Guardiola wrote on social media.

‘My answer was in no way intended to make light of the very serious issue of self harm.

‘I know that many people struggle with mental health issues every day, and I would like to take this moment to highlight one of the ways in people can seek help, by calling the Samaritans hotline on 116 123 or emailing jo@samaritans.org.’

Wife left Manchester for Barcelona five years ago

Guardiola and Serra, who married in an intimate ceremony on the outskirts of Barcelona in 2014 have now decided to part ways.

The couple, who met in 1994, had been living apart for more than five years after Serra moved back to Barcelona with one of their three daughters, Valentina, 17, while Guardiola remained in Manchester. 

They have two other children together: Maria, 24 and Marius, 22.

Guardiola and Serra, a Brazilian journalist and writer, had remained a couple despite not living in the same city and have regularly been pictured together in the years since.

Spanish outlet Sport reports that the decision to end their marriage was made in December, with only members of their inner circle aware of the split. Their trusted friends and family have also been told not to disclose any further information, according to the publication.

Guardiola and Serra met while the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss was modelling for designer Antonio Miro in the shop in the Spanish city.

They began a long-distance relationship when Guardiola was a footballer, before they bought a home together in Barcelona. The couple later moved to Germany when Guardiola was manager of Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich. 

Serra decided to leave Manchester in 2019 to help oversee the fashion company owned by her family, Serra Claret, which stocks several brands the City manager is often seen wearing. Guardiola also makes regular trips back to Spain to see his wife and their children. 

Sport stated their relationship is ‘totally cordial, stable and friendly’ despite the split.

Serra was in Istanbul in June 2023 to congratulate her husband after City beat Inter Milan in the final of the Champions League to seal a famous Treble.

They were also pictured together attending Wimbledon at the All England Club in July.

Guardiola had often spoken publicly about his wife. In January 2024, he said: ‘My wife is the best in the world at many things, especially fashion.

‘She says normally to me, don’t wear this or wear that, so I follow. I’m smart enough to know when people are much better than me, follow their advice.’

In May 2023, Guardiola said: ‘When I have five days [off] for example, yes [I can switch off from football].

‘I went to Barcelona [after Real Madrid] for example to see my wife, my little daughter. That helps me. But with every three days, there’s no chance.’

Contract U-turn

Pep Guardiola was widely expected to leave Manchester City – but changed his mind and signed a new deal.

Some have now pondered whether this was because his marriage has ended.

Football experts have said he is an obsessive who will now want to rebuild the team now it is highly unlikely they will win the Premier League again in 2024/25. 

Amid the worst run of Pep Guardiola’s managerial career last month, the Spaniard revealed how his family were his first port of call when coming to terms with defeat.

The 53-year-old, who had seen his Man City side fall off the pace in the race for the Premier League title, then made the stark reflection on the loneliness of life as a manager.

‘The starting point with coping with the problems of defeat would be being with people, your family basically,’ he said.

‘But no-one can really console the loneliness of the football manager. You have people beside you but the bad decisions, why have I done that, it’s gone wrong because I did this, I didn’t push them enough… the pain of the defeat, you feel it alone.

‘You might have friends around you, but when you close that bedroom door and turn off the light there’s no consolation.’

Mail Sport reported in May that Guardiola was expected to view this season as his last at Man City, having presided over a spell of unprecedented dominance with 15 trophies in eight seasons.

Guardiola was considered to be exhausted after masterminding Man City’s fourth successive Premier League title and sixth in seven years.

He had spent the close-season playing golf, visiting his dad in Catalonia and enjoying a dinner with his former players from Barcelona B, the first team he coached. 

‘You are always tired at the end of a season but when you take a break you bring energy back,’ he reflected in August. ‘To work better, you have to disconnect. It is necessary to relax your mind, do other things. Otherwise there is a moment it doesn’t work.

‘I have learned that. Before I was like, “I have to work”. No, sometimes resting means you are working better.

‘Sometimes I am tired and in that moment, I don’t work. I rest. And after rest, I am ready to work harder and better,’ he added.

‘Not all the time I am happy or have the energy to work, that is why I have staff to help. Before it was not like that, I felt I had to do all of it, and it’s not productive.’

Rest has proved hard to come by since, with Man City having had a gruelling fixture schedule, while Guardiola has seen his side struggle both domestically and in the Champions League this season.

Man City suffered four consecutive defeats in November, which saw his side fall off the pace in the Premier League and exit the Carabao Cup, before the relevation Guardiola had agreed to extend his contract further.

Guardiola confirmed Mail Sport’s story from May that he was expected to leave next summer but suggested that a decisive display of commitment was required during City’s tricky run of form to send a message.

‘Since the beginning of the season I’ve been thinking a lot,’ Guardiola said. ‘I thought that (this season) should be the last one.

‘But with the problems we had in the last month, I felt that now is not the time to leave. I would have let the club down.

‘I felt that I could not leave now. Simple as that. Maybe the four defeats was the reason why and I felt that I cannot leave. I felt the club still wanted me and the fact we’re still together so I signed.’

The expected lift from Guardiola’s contract extension failed to materialise, with Man City going on an eight match winless run, the worst sequence of results of the Spaniard’s managerial career.