Pep Guardiola's Heartfelt Plea For Gaza: 'It Hurts My Whole Body'
Pep Guardiola in a emotional speech said he is the Gaza conflict 'hurts his whole body'.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola expressed profound distress over the conflict in Gaza, stating it 'hurts my whole body" during a poignant speech at the University of Manchester. The 54-year-old made these remarks while receiving an honorary doctorate from the university on Monday.
'It's so painful what we see in Gaza; it hurts my whole body," Guardiola said in excerpts of his speech shared on social media. He emphasised, 'It's not about ideology or who's right or wrong. It's about the love of life and caring for your neighbour."
Guardiola cautioned, 'We might think that seeing children as young as four being killed by bombs or in hospitals is not our business. But be careful. The next victims could be our own children."
He added, 'I see my children, Maria, Marius, and Valentina, and every morning since this nightmare started, I think of the children in Gaza. I'm terrified."
⚡️JUST IN:Pep Guardiola, while receiving an honorary degree from the University of Manchester, gave a powerful speech about Gaza:
"It is so painful what we see in Gaza, it hurts all my body…it is not about ideology but the love of life…It is about refusing to be silent or… pic.twitter.com/s4w9ht8yhK
— Suppressed News. (@SuppressedNws) June 9, 2025
Guardiola has previously expressed political views, notably supporting the campaign for Catalan independence. He received the honorary degree for his unparalleled success at Manchester City, where he has won six Premier League titles, and for his work with the Guardiola Sala Foundation, which supports disadvantaged communities through various projects.
Other members of the football community have also spoken about Gaza. In October 2023, Liverpool and Egypt forward Mohamed Salah urged world leaders to 'prevent further slaughter of innocent souls". The following month, Bundesliga club Mainz dismissed Dutch winger Anwar El Ghazi, now at Cardiff, over social media posts related to the conflict.
(With inputs from AFP)
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