Documentary reveals Guardiola confrontation with captain Kyle Walker during his final two City seasons
An Amazon Prime documentary series covering Pep Guardiola's final two years at Manchester City reveals a dressing-room confrontation with captain Kyle Walker after the defender asked to leave the club. In a scene filmed days after Walker's departure the manager tells his players he was "incredibly sad" and says "you cannot behave" the way Walker did.
The series shows Walker joining AC Milan on loan in January 2025 after asking Guardiola for a fresh challenge and captures the manager addressing his squad before a home match with Chelsea. In that meeting Guardiola says: "So sad, what happened with Kyle," and adds, "It was so easy for him to come to me [and say] 'I'm tired'. But you cannot behave as a captain the way he has done it. You cannot, in the toughest moments in our lives." The film does not make clear the specific behaviour Guardiola is referring to.
One sequence recreates an argument between the pair after a December 2024 defeat at Anfield in which Walker lost the ball to Luis Diaz before a penalty was awarded. Guardiola tells his dressing room, "Kyle has to know that if you lose the ball it's a goal," prompting an angry response from Walker: "Every meeting, it's my name". Guardiola answers, "Maybe because you're a captain." Walker replies: "OK. You didn't want me to be your captain."
Shortly before that Liverpool defeat, Guardiola had signed a new contract after suffering four consecutive losses for the first time in his career, and the documentary shows him overcome with emotion after the argument with Walker. He tells the group: "If I'm a problem, then you have to tell me. "I won't stay here just for the money, or just for the fact to stay. "I extended the contract because I want to be here with you, I want to win a fight in that position. I don't want to feel that I'm leaving and running away from you. I don't want to have that feeling that now the pieces fall down." He adds: "But if you feel, captains first, then the other ones, for example [feel] that there's a problem, tell me. It's not going to change the love I have for all of you - not one second. But I want to fight. That's all. I'm sorry."
The series also details how close Guardiola came to not extending his deal, with a scene in which he tells director Kevin Macdonald: "Maybe it's over." City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak is shown saying: "You know the boy that cried wolf? He is the boy that cried wolf. I always convince him, but last year, I knew, this time he actually saw the wolf." The film links on-field struggles to off-field pressures including 115 charges for alleged breaches of Premier League financial rules and the long-term injury to 2024 Ballon d'Or winner Rodri.
Guardiola's personal turmoil is documented alongside match footage, including scenes after a November 2024 3-3 draw with Feyenoord when scratches appeared on his head and nose. Manel Estiarte, a long-time member of Guardiola's technical staff, says: "They were worried because Pep was anxious," adding, "He was sad. He was different. And only I knew the reason. "And I said to the team, 'please, you have to understand, you're not playing with a coach who can be a bit impulsive, who can be a bit intense, who can be sometimes up and down. You're seeing a human being. He's getting a divorce'."
The documentary includes other raw exchanges, such as Guardiola's reaction after a defeat by Bayer Leverkusen in November 2025 when he tells his players: "I work for you and I leave my life, my divorce and my family is away and everything for all of you. And what do you give back? "The performance you have done, all of you. It's a disgrace guys. "When I see that, I am exhausted, I'm drained, I want to quit. When you play like this, I feel alone." In some scenes he warns the squad they will "get a new manager" if performances do not improve and presses them to adopt close pre-match rituals.
Guardiola stepped down as City manager at the end of the 25-26 campaign after 10 years at the club, having won 20 trophies, including both the FA Cup and League Cup in his final season. Speaking about his future he says: "I don't know even myself what I am going to do," and adds: "It will be difficult to come back. That's my feeling today. I need to refresh many things that happened in my personal life." The series shows City undertaking a squad rebuild across the 2024 winter and summer transfer windows, bringing in French winger Rayan Cherki, 22, as 35-year-old Kevin de Bruyne left the club after winning 16 trophies in 10 years; the film states De Bruyne did not want to leave and that he "breaks down while speaking about the impact on his family." Guardiola reflects on that decision: "It kills me," adding, "Without Kevin, that period - forget about it. He was crying here [in the office]. Oh God. I have affection for that player. We lived incredible things together. Then you have to be more cold."
Sporting director Hugo Viana tells the camera there were question marks over Cherki's attitude before his £30m signing in June 2025, and the series records Cherki's contribution last season: four goals and 12 assists in 33 Premier League matches, the second highest number of assists in the division.
