Mr Guardiola, though, was always more Catalan than Spanish. He is a strong supporter of Catalonia’s independence, and spoke out in favour of an illegal separatist referendum in 2017. Little surprise,

Pep Guardiola has said he has to "prove himself" all over again after Manchester City's six-game winless run and added the only reason there are not more questions about whether he should be sacked is because he's won six Premier League titles.

Guardiola committed himself to it, and not merely by putting pen to paper. He cited the reality that, six months ago, City were crowned champions, FA Cup finalists, a side only knocked out of the Champions League on penalties by Real Madrid.