Pep Guardiola has brushed aside speculation about his future after Manchester City were knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid, insisting the club still has a bright future.
City suffered a 2-1 defeat on the night and a heavy 5-1 aggregate loss, marking their third consecutive Champions League elimination at the hands of the Spanish giants.
With questions growing over whether Guardiola could leave the club at the end of the season, the City manager refused to be drawn into the discussion. Instead, he focused on what lies ahead.
“Everyone wants to fire me, right?” Guardiola joked. “One day I’ll come here and say goodbye, but for now I still have one more year on my contract. The future is bright and we’ll be back next season.”
City started strongly in the match but were dealt a major blow when Bernardo Silva was sent off in the first half for handling a goal-bound effort from Vinícius Júnior.
Vinícius converted the resulting penalty and later added a second goal in stoppage time, after Erling Haaland had briefly brought City level just before halftime.
Guardiola defended Silva after the match, describing the red card as an unfortunate reaction rather than a mistake.
“It’s his first red card. It can be avoided, but I will never blame my player,” he said. “We started well and I would have loved to see the game played 11 against 11, but this is football. Madrid are an exceptional team and they punish mistakes.”
Despite needing goals to get back into the tie, Guardiola substituted Haaland with over 30 minutes remaining. He later explained that the decision was purely tactical and confirmed the striker should be fit for the upcoming clash against Arsenal.
Meanwhile, Vinícius said his emotional celebration was a response to a banner displayed by City fans during a previous meeting between the sides.
The Brazilian forward, who scored twice in the match, made a “crying” gesture after finding the net, referencing last season’s “stop crying your heart out” message aimed at him.
“Football always gives you another chance,” Vinícius said. “We knew what we had to do, work hard and take our chances. This result is important for our confidence.”
He also revealed that he initially wanted Federico Valverde to take the penalty, but stepped up after encouragement from his teammates.
Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was taken off at halftime as a precaution, with Andriy Lunin replacing him. Assistant coach Álvaro Arbeloa later downplayed any injury concerns, expressing hope that Courtois would be available for the upcoming derby against Atlético Madrid.
