'Great honour to be your manager' - Pep Guardiola fights back tears in Man City goodbye

'Great honour to be your manager' - Pep Guardiola fights back tears in Man City goodbye

The Spaniard struggled to hold back tears as fans paid tribute to the manager who transformed City into one of Europe's dominant sides during his 10 years at the club.

"I'm so nervous. Terrified right now," Guardiola told supporters after the match. "Why do you love me so much? Why do you do that to me?"

Guardiola said he never expected the deep connection he would build with the club and its fans during his decade in Manchester.

"I never could imagine the amount of love," he said. "It has been an incredible, tremendous honour to be your manager, to be here during 10 years."

During his time at City, Guardiola led the club to multiple Premier League titles, domestic cups and European success, creating one of the most successful periods in the club's history. Reflecting on those achievements, he said the memories stretched beyond trophies alone.

"The goodbye video was so long because of the amount of trophies and incredible emotions," Guardiola said.

He also revealed what he hoped supporters would remember most from his reign at the club.

"Please, I would love not just to remember the trophies that we won," he said. "Hopefully we provided emotions that people come here and feel maybe we are going to have fun."

Guardiola became emotional when speaking about his family, especially his 94-year-old father, who was in attendance for the occasion.

"My dad is here in the stands, 94 years old," Guardiola said. "Our family name will be here for many, many years."

The City boss also praised the players who helped build the club's success, mentioning stars such as Fernandinho, Ilkay Gundogan, Ederson, John Stones and Bernardo Silva.

He reserved special praise for Stones and Silva, adding: "Congratulations to John and Bernie for this incredible career."

Guardiola also challenged the current squad to continue maintaining the high standards established during his era.

"They have a huge responsibility to maintain these standards," he said.

The former FC Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach admitted the city itself had become deeply important to him.

"Manchester became my home," Guardiola said.

He ended his farewell speech with an emotional message to supporters, asking them to continue sharing the bond they built together over the years.

"If in the next years, all around the world, you find me in the streets, if you are a Manchester City fan, come to me and hug me. I will need it," he said.

"Every decision I took, I always thought what was best for this club.
 

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