Guardiola apologizes for his comment about his strange head injuries

Bad times for Pep Guardiola and Manchester City. The Catalan coach appeared at a press conference after the draw against Feyenoord with a head full of scratches and small wounds. When questioned about this, Pep Guardiola joked that “With my fingers, with my nails… I want to hurt myself,” before leaving the press room at the Etihad Stadium. Some words that were taken in a humorous tone, but that as the hours passed have caused a strong controversy.

His statements have forced him to apologize, because he did not want to “downplay” the “very serious problem” of self-harm when he responded that he wanted to “harm” himself. “Last night they surprised me with a question at the end of the press conference about a scratch that had appeared on my face and I explained that it had been accidentally caused by a sharp nail,” says Guardiola on his X account.

«My response was in no way intended to downplay the very serious problem of self-harm. I know that many people struggle every day with mental health problems,” he explained in a text that he accompanied with the telephone numbers and contact emails for help associations. This controversy adds to the bad moment that Guadiola is going through at City despite his renewal with the ‘Citizen’ team until 2027 last Thursday. With the draw against Feyenoord, the English team added its sixth game without winning. It is their worst streak at the Etihad, with five consecutive defeats before the surprising draw against the Dutch team in the Champions League.

mental issue

The bad sporting situation and seeing how his team was tied in just 15 minutes in a game they had won left a curious image of Pep Guardiola, first on the bench and then at a press conference. During the clash he was seen with an injury to his nose and was very nervous despite the advantage his team had. But it was even worse after Feyenoord’s first goal, after a mistake by Gvardiol. However, he later wanted to come out in his defense before the media. «He is very young. You will learn. I’ll be very wrong if I point the finger at him, and he’s a fantastic guy. Now, more than ever, he needs help…” Guardiola said.

Guardiola, of course, wanted to analyze the match and justified Feyenoord’s draw on a mental issue. «It was difficult for us, we were playing well, with confidence, but something happened. I don’t know if it’s a mental or technical issue. These goals against cannot happen. Normally we manage the games well, but we are not winning them, that is the feeling we have right now,” he said.

Of course, the Catalan coach wanted to be optimistic despite the draw, recognizing that “the positive side is that Haaland has scored again and Rico Lewis’ performance has been very good.” However, he criticized himself by pointing out that “after a 3-3 there is not much to say, we played a good game but you can’t go like that.”

Regarding his future in the Champions League, he confessed that “the last three games are going to be crucial, we have to think about recovering. If we are not able to win a game like this, this Champions League will be difficult. “We need to rest and think about the next game.”