Pep Guardiola's wife had other Premier League preferences for Man City before 'splitting'

Pep Guardiola's wife preferred the manager to take charge of two Premier League rivals instead of Manchester City before their reported split. Guardiola has endured a tumultuous few months dealing with City's horrendous league form in the 2024/25 season.

His difficult time appears to have extended beyond football too, with reports in Spain claiming the 53-year-old has split from his wife, Cristina Serra, after 30 years. He is said to still be on good terms with the mother of his three children, having been seen together at the theater over the Christmas period.

Before their reported split, the Sunday Mirror revealed Serra returned to their Barcelona home in 2019, suggesting a long-distance relationship as she traveled between Spain and the UK. And Serra wouldn't initially want to move to Manchester.

When Guardiola announced his departure from Bayern Munich at the end of 2015, it was unclear whether he would join City, Manchester United, Chelsea or Arsenal once the 2015/16 season ended. But according to a 2015 report from The Independent, Serra was then in favor of a move to one of two London clubs.

She was said to be excited by the appeal of living in one of the world's greatest cities, whether in posh west London or the N5. Chelsea were still owned by Roman Abramovich and had yet to appoint Antonio Conte, who led them to their last league title in 2016/2017.

Meanwhile, Arsenal were still managed by Arsene Wenger, who had just won back-to-back FA Cup trophies. However, City already had the upper hand when it came to securing Guardiola's services, having opened discussions with him as far back as 2012.

His close relationship with director of football Txiki Begiristain, with whom he worked at Barcelona, ​​and City CEO Ferran Soriano allowed negotiations to progress quickly to the point that all legal aspects were agreed by January 2016.

Guardiola's time in England was undoubtedly triumphant, winning 18 trophies with the Etihad club. That includes six Premier League titles and the Champions League in a treble-winning campaign two years ago.

However, her marriage does not appear to have survived the move. He met Serra in 1994 while he was still playing for boyhood club Barcelona. The couple only married in 2014, in an intimate ceremony in the suburbs of Barcelona.