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Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola gave a hilarious one-word response after being asked to choose between City and Barcelona. Guardiola was at the Best FIFA Football Awards 2023 in London, where he won the Best FIFA Men’s Coach 2023. He has been honoured with the award for an incredible period of success at City. Under his guidance, the club won the historic Premier League, UEFA Champions League, and FA Cup treble in 2022/23.
Guardiola managed a team to a treble before, when he managed Barcelona in 2008-09; the club is regarded as the best club of all time. After the 52-year-old accepted his prize, the event host asked him to choose the better team among the two. As Thierry Henry asked him to choose his favourite team, Guardiola considered the question for a second and replied with, “F***!”, leaving everyone in splits.
Guardiola then said, "I don't know...it would be a good game! We will see who is the manager. Both are incredible teams. That team in Barcelona was incredible, we were so young. But this team in England, in the Premier League, is really tough and competitive for many competitions. These guys, season by season by season, even this season after winning the treble they are still there. Just being with them [the players], not winning or losing but just being with them, is the best award I can get as a manager, by far." At the beginning of the speech, he said, "Barca is the club of my heart, the reason I am here, it is part of my life."
Notably, Guardiola came on top of the standing among all the nominees with 28 points ahead of Italy’s Luciano Spalletti (18 points) and Simone Inzaghi (11 points). The Best FIFA Men’s Coach award was voted on by the national teams’ coaches, captains, and journalists along with supporters. The votes were based on performance and achievements from 19 December 2022 to 20 August 2023.
