GUARD OF HONOUR
Pep Guardiola’s emotional rock is wife and partner of 35 years Cristina Serra and family including model daughter Maria
See how Pep met his wife when they were both starry eyed teens in Catalonia
MAN CITY boss Pep Guardiola is in need of his family's support more than ever.
The Catalonian tactician, 53, cut a frustrated figure after seeing his side throw away a 3-0 lead in the Champions League against Feyenoord.
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Incredibly, the Premier League champions are now winless in six games, and it has Guardiola scratching his head... literally.
In an interview after the game, he was seen with scratches on his head and nose.
Guardiola was quizzed about how he got the cut on his nose and responded by saying: "My finger, here [makes a scratching motion]. My nail.
The Spaniard then joked that City's woeful form over the last few weeks has driven him to self-harm, saying: "I want to harm myself."
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Guardiola later apologised for his comments and insisted he wasn't making light of mental health issues.
In the wake of City's bad form, and the worst run in Guardiola's career, he will be able to lean on his wife and partner of 35 years Cristina Serra.
While his kids will also offer a distraction away from the stresses of football management.
SunSport looks at the support team behind the world's greatest coach.
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The missus
Pep met beautiful Cristina in Catalonia, when they were just starry-eyed teenagers.
Guardiola left scratching his head as City blow 3-0 lead against Feyenoord
She comes from a fashion family dynasty, who own the Serra Claret boutique in Barcelona.
It was there their paths crossed for the first time.
Guardiola, then a youth star, was doing a modelling shoot for the late Spanish designer Antonio Miro in the shop, when he fixed his gaze on his future missus.
They finally walked down the aisle in 2014 at a town hall on the outskirts of Barcelona.
Earlier in the year, he revealed his wife is his fashion guru.
He said: “My wife is the best in the world at many things, but especially in fashion. So she says normally to me, don't wear this or wear that, so I follow her.
"I am smart enough to know that when people are much much better than me, follow their advice and hers is really good.”
Whenever City taste success, Cristina is often seen at the Etihad alongside Guardiola.
She happily poses with the trophies his team has won, alongside their kids.
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Model daughter
Pep's eldest child is daughter Maria, 23, who has branched out on her own.
To almost one million followers on Instagram, she shares her glam lifestyle.
Unsurprisingly, the beauty is a model and has appeared in sexy bikini shoots for swimwear brand iBilovesyou.
She also once reportedly dated a footballer.
Back in 2021, Maria was spotted with ex-Spurs star Dele Alli in a romantic clinch.
As we exclusively revealed, the pair didn't care who saw them as they snogged each other at Cloud 9 rooftop bar in front of the DJ booth.
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A few months later, they were spotted getting lunch at trendy Mayfair hotspot Novikov, before grabbing a coffee at Starbucks.
However, six months later it was reported that Alli had split with Maria.
Family time
In 2023, after Pep's most gruelling and successful season as City boss - winning the treble - family time was important.
Pep and Cristina took their three children on a trip of a lifetime to visit to Egypt.
Maria, son Marius, 21, and youngest daughter Valentina, 16, joined their parents to tour Cairo and Luxor and visit the Sphinx and Great Pyramid of Giza.
Wearing a white outfit and a red baseball cap bearing the letter P, Guardiola received a special ‘Pharaoh’ trophy in photos taken by officials at the Ministry of Tourism.
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Showing a family that all pull the same way together, they were all dressed in neutral shades of white, as they beamed for photos.
They're a support system for Pep that never wanes.
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