‘I am a failure’: Pep Guardiola reveals baffling Julia Roberts anecdote

Guardiola said that even victory in the Champions League would not be enough after the actress snubbed Manchester City

Pep Guardiola has insisted he will always remain a failure in life because he was snubbed by Julia Roberts when the actress chose to watch Manchester United rather than Manchester City.

Guardiola reacted to his City side’s 7-0 thrashing of RB Leipzig by claiming that even Champions League glory will not make him a success in his own eyes because the Pretty Woman star chose not to watch his side.

Roberts is a United fan who attended their 2016 game against West Ham and wished Jesse Lingard a happy birthday on Instagram.

And Guardiola said: “I am a failure in the Champions League, I’m sorry. I’m going to explain a secret.

“Even if we win this Champions League or three in a row, I will be a failure. I have three idols in my life: Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods and Julia Roberts.

“Julia Roberts came to England a few years ago in the period when Manchester United were not good, we were better, and she came to Manchester United, she didn’t come to us. Even if I win the Champions League, it cannot make up for Julia Roberts not coming to see us.”

Guardiola also joked that he took Erling Haaland off one goal short of a double hat-trick as Manchester City thrashed RB Leipzig 7-0 to make sure he still has at least one target left to chase.

The Norwegian striker sent records tumbling in a ruthless display as he scored five in 35 minutes, becoming the youngest player to reach 30 goals in the Champions League and the fastest to do it and joining only Lionel Messi and Luiz Adriano in scoring five in a single Champions League match.

Haaland completed his hat-trick in first-half stoppage time after two in the space of two minutes midway through the first half, the first a contentious penalty, and then added two more in the 53rd and 57th minutes, with Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin De Bruyne getting the others as City won 8-1 on aggregate.

But Haaland was replaced by Julian Alvarez just after the hour, and afterwards said: “I told him [Guardiola] when I went off, I’d love to score a double hat-trick - but what can I do!”

Asked why he made the switch, Guardiola said: “If he achieved this milestone at 22, 23 years old, it will be boring, his life. Now he has a target, that’s why I make the substitution.

“I didn’t know this about Messi against (Bayer) Leverkusen but normally when the game is over I want to let all the players play as much as possible.”

Goals have not been a problem from the day Haaland arrived in Manchester - Tuesday’s performance saw him reach 39 for the season and break Tommy Johnson’s club record for a single season - but the debate over his overall contribution has continued regardless as every touch count is analysed.

“Today he scored five goals and I think he had 30-35 touches and this is what we are looking for,” Guardiola said. “When you are involved in the game, when the time comes to score a goal you are more precise. It’s difficult to score when you do not touch the ball for 40 minutes.

“Sometimes it’s his fault. Sometimes he doesn’t move - against Crystal Palace I said to him, ‘You didn’t play good today’ - but other times it’s our fault. Away to Leipzig we didn’t find him in the second half. But we are working to make the process quicker.”

Includes reporting from PA