Barcelona Blog
Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola has apologized for what he described as “unnecessary and stupid statements” about Stephen Gerrard, the Liverpool legend.
Guardiola referred to Gerrard on Friday morning, shortly after Manchester City were accused of breaching the Premier League’s Financial Fair Play rules.
Guardiola sarcastically referred to the time when Gerrard lost his footing and allowed Demba Ba to score at Anfield which resulted in Liverpool losing the Premier League title when he defended City’s spending during the title-winning season in 2013-14.
However, Guardiola has now apologized to Gerrard for his comments – claiming the former Liverpool captain “didn’t deserve it” and was “ashamed” of himself for insulting the 42-year-old.
Guardiola’s first remarks were: “I don’t know if we were responsible for Steven Gerrard’s slide. Do you know this situation at Anfield? I didn’t want to do it out of respect for Steven Gerrard, but is it our fault?”
However, he did apologize to Gerrard during his press conference ahead of Manchester City’s Premier League clash with Arsenal on Wednesday.
The City boss said: “I apologize to Steven Gerrard for the unnecessary and stupid comments I made about him last time. I’m ashamed of myself because he didn’t deserve it.”
He added, “He knows how much I admire him and his career. I am ashamed of myself because it is not worth it. I didn’t represent my team well.
And he ended: “I apologized to him [Steven Gerrard] in private, but since the statement was public, my apology must also be public … I am very sorry for him, his wife and his family ….”
Source: Marca and Daily Mail
