Guardiola Reflects on Disheartening Incident Post-Newcastle Defeat

Pep Guardiola has publicly acknowledged feeling “embarrassed and ashamed” following his altercation with a television cameraman after Manchester City’s defeat to Newcastle United on Saturday.

The incident occurred on the pitch at St James’ Park, where Guardiola appeared to be in a heated exchange with the cameraman. Additionally, he was seen engaged in animated discussions with referee Samuel Barrott and Newcastle midfielder Bruno Guimarães following City’s 2-1 loss.

When questioned during a press conference on Monday about his remarks to the cameraman, Guardiola confirmed that he had apologized for his actions during the dispute. “I feel embarrassed, ashamed when I see it,” he stated. “I don’t like it. I apologized after one second to the cameraman. I am who I am. After 1,000 games, I’m not a perfect person; I make huge mistakes. It’s not about that. What is certain is that I will always defend my team and my club.”

In a somewhat tense press conference leading up to Bayer Leverkusen’s visit to the Etihad Stadium for a Champions League match on Tuesday, Guardiola also made a subtle criticism regarding the situation of Claudio Echeverri, an Argentinian player on loan from City to Leverkusen, who has faced limited playing time in the Bundesliga.

City had preferred that Echeverri join Girona, a club affiliated with the City Football Group, and Guardiola indicated his disappointment with the player’s current situation in Germany. “Always, I would love for players to play a lot of minutes; the intention is always there,” he remarked concerning Echeverri’s performance. “We have immense respect for him as a football player. I am sure his agent is well aware of everything.”

When asked about the possibility of Echeverri returning to City in January, Guardiola responded, “That is a question for his beautiful agent.”