Guardiola praised by 'idol' Julia Roberts after she made him feel like 'failure'
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola got the response he may well have wanted on top of Champions League glory, with Julia Roberts congratulating the Catalan.
Back in March, Guardiola claimed he felt like a "failure" after Hollywood actor Roberts visited Old Trafford rather than City's Etihad Stadium. The Oceans Eleven star considers herself a Manchester United fan, and attended a 2016 game which saw United held by West Ham.
Guardiola suggested he'd still be a failure even if he won the Champions League, having failed to win over "idol" Roberts. However, after City's victory over Inter on Saturday, the American sent a message of support.
"Congratulations @pepteam for leading your team to be UCL champions," Roberts wrote on Instagram, with the hashtags #pep and #soccermom. The caption accompanied a photo of Guardiola kissing the Champions League trophy after Saturday's victory.
City went into the final as heavy favourites, but were made to work hard by Simone Inzaghi's Inter. Rodri scored the only goal of the game, with the Nerazzurri missing presentable chances to level things up.
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Guardola's team are now celebrating a treble, having won the Premier League by a five-point margin and beaten Manchester United in the FA Cup final. Whether that's enough for the manager, however, is another matter.
Is Pep Guardiola still a "failure" as he says? Have your say in the comments section
Pep Guardiola has finally secured a Champions League win with Manchester City (Manchester City FC via Getty Ima)“I am a failure in the Champions League," Guardiola said after a comfortable round of 16 victory over RB Leipzig. "If I 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.
“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?
Julia Roberts visited Old Trafford in 2016 (Getty Images)“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.”
Guardiola made clear his relief after City won the final. It was just the second time they made it to the showpiece, after losing to Chelsea in 2021, and the victory came after exorcising the demons of last season's semi-final collapse against Real Madrid.
“I am tired, calm, satisfied of course," he told BT Sport after the narrow win. "This f***ing trophy is so difficult to win. Its impossible.
“It was not going to be any different. Inter are really, really good. [Former Inter and Tottenham manager] Antonio Conte is a very similar style. They find the strikers. They link really well. They keep the ball. We were so anxious.
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“ John Stones was the free man and we could not find him. But we had to be patient. We were a goal down in Porto [in the 2021 final] but not tonight. We had to be lucky.”
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