Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola said he did not intend “to make light of” self harm when answering a question about a scratch on his face after Tuesday’s 3-3 draw with Feyenoord.
Guardiola appeared after the game at the Etihad, which saw the Premier League champions squander a three-goal lead late on, with scratches on his nose and head.
When asked about them, the Catalan boss said a sharp fingernail had caused them before joking that the collapse by his team made him want “to harm” himself.
But clarifying his comments in a statement on Team Pep Instagram story, the City boss said: “I was caught off guard with a question at the end of a press conference last night about a scratch which had appeared on my head and explained that a sharp fingernail had accidentally caused this.
“My answer was in no way intended to make light of the very serious issue of self harm.
“I know that many people struggle with mental health issues every day, and I would like to take this moment to highlight one of the ways in [which] people can seek help, by calling the Samaritans hotline on 116 123 or emailing [email protected].”
🚨 Pep Guardiola on those cuts: “With my fingers… I want to harm myself”.
🎥 @BeanymanSports pic.twitter.com/9g9Ix0LyrO
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) November 26, 2024
City crisis deepens with shock collapse
Guardiola saw City’s woes continue with the shock draw after seemingly having the game sewn up at 3-0 with less than 20 minutes of the game to go.
But three poor goals later and City are now without a win in six games, having lost the previous five in all competitions.
“We lost a lot of games lately, we are fragile and of course, we need a victory,” Guardiola told Amazon Prime after the match.
Speaking in his press conference, he added: “It’s not about no run or no commitment, but football you have to be [switched on] in certain moments to do it. [It’s] difficult to swallow right now.”
City have now conceded 17 goals in their last six games, with their previous game a 4-0 defeat at the hands of Tottenham.
Guardiola said: “We are not able to win games, as a team always we found a way to win games.
“Right now after situations, we can’t get another one. After 3-0, nothing happened. We couldn’t score a fourth, we couldn’t score a fifth. Nothing happened. We were in control but now something happened.”
He added: “Of course they [the players] feel it, they play good many aspects. We make 26 shots against Tottenham and lost 0-4. We are a team who concede few, few goals over these eight or nine years. Now it is not going to happen. We cannot close the games.”
