Manchester United have teased Pep Guardiola by posting a throwback tweet which referenced the time Julia Roberts visited Old Trafford.
The Manchester City manager spoke on the Hollywood A-Lister’s decision to snub a trip to the Eithad after the Premier League club’s 7-0 win over RB Leipzig last night.
City booked their place in the quarter finals of the Champions League after an outstanding display of attacking football that underlined their status as favourites to win the European competition.
Erling Haaland became only the third player in the Champions League’d history to score five goals in a single game, but Guardiola was in thorny mood during his post match press conference.
The Spanish coach insisted he will always be regarded as a failure at City even if he wins the prize that has evaded him since he was appointed in 2016, but the pain of missing out again would not compare to the rejection he felt at Roberts’ snub.
‘I am a failure in the Champions League,’ Guardiola said. ‘If win the Champions League three times in a row I will be a failure.
‘I have three idols in my life. Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, and Julia Roberts. These are my three idols.
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‘Julia Roberts years ago came to Manchester – not in the 90s when Sir Alex (Ferguson) was winning titles and titles and titles. She came in the period where we were better than United, in these four or five years, right?
‘And she went to visit Man United. She didn’t come to see us. That’s why even if I win the Champions League it will not compare for the fact that Julia Roberts came to Manchester and didn’t come to see us.
‘Even if I win the Champions League it will not compare to this disappointment I had.’
The Red Devils noted Guardiola’s disgruntlement and referenced th actresses’ Old Trafford visit with a post on social media with a cheeky caption.
Throwing it back to when Julia Roberts visited Old Trafford ????#MUFC pic.twitter.com/xBzLZgnJLK
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) March 15, 2023
Guardiola, meanwhile, also fired back at criticism of his recent team selections, reserving ire for ‘Twitter guys’ who struggle to understand his rotation of big-name players.
He said: ‘With the selection, if we win I am right, if we lose I am wrong. But I have a lot of information even you [the media] don’t have.
‘Bernardo on the left side is amazing. Bernardo has the ability to press three players in two movements. No player in the world can do that. He is so intelligent. Leipzig are very good on the left side. That’s why he played.
‘I have more info than the Twitter guys. I am sorry. Today I am right. I am right.’
