Pep Guardiola has enraged Real Madrid fans after a quickly deleted photo showed the Man City manager and his staff celebrating their 4-0 win over Los Blancos on Wednesday.
City humbled Carlo Ancelotti’s side to reach the Champions League final in style at the Etihad – thanks to two goals from Bernardo Silva, one from Manuel Akanji, before Julian Alvarez added victory by scoring in stoppage time.
Guardiola’s men will head to Istanbul’s Ataturk Olympic Stadium on June 10 to take on Inter Milan after the huge milestone 5-1 aggregate victory against the league’s 14-time winners.
And after the win, a photo was posted to Instagram by Manuel Estiarte – who is a close friend of Guardiola and part of City’s coaching staff – showing the City boss, along with friends and his colleagues, holding up four fingers in reference to won their 4-0, captioned ‘Four?’.
Among those accompanying Guardiola in the photo were his brother, Pere, city president Khaldoon Al Mubarak and former Argentina president Mauricio Macri as they celebrated in a private room at the Etihad.
Pep Guardiola has enraged Real Madrid fans after a quickly deleted photo showed the Manchester City manager and his colleagues celebrating their 4-0 win over Real Madrid on Wednesday. L-R: Pere Guardiola (top), Martin Edelman (bottom), Abdulla Khouri, Mauricio Macri, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, Alberto Galassi, Pep Guardiola, Joan Patsy (bottom), and Manuel Estiarte
Carlo Ancelotti’s side were humiliated by City as the reigning champions lost 5-1 on aggregate
The four-finger celebration had a reference to former Barcelona player Gerard Pique, who became iconic for holding up five fingers as they beat Real Madrid 5-0 in 2010.
Also pictured were directors Martin Edelman, Abdulla Khouri, Alberto Galassi – and City Football Group board member Joan Patsy.
The celebration had significance for Guardiola, as one of his former players at Barcelona, Gerard Pique, did something similar during his career.
In November 2010, the Catalan giants beat bitter rivals Real Madrid 5-0 in El Classico and in what has become iconic in Spanish football, the former defender held up five fingers in reference to all of their goals – a celebration he repeated at similar moments during his career.
And Real fans weren’t happy about their former nemesis and his celebrations, with the photo hastily removed by Estiarte.
One of them said, “I hope they lose the final so they keep those four fingers where they do best.”
Another added: ‘Vamos Inter’, referring to City’s opponents in next month’s clash in Istanbul.
Another angry supporter lashed out at Guardiola and City, insisting they still had a long way to go to match Real’s record 14 Champions League titles.
Pep’s partying with his City colleagues and friends enraged several Real supporters
They said: ‘If they put a one before (the four), they will be able to understand the greatness of Madrid, 14 Champions League… seen through your eyes.’
Another joked, “Great game, but behind that (they) leave a lot to be desired as always.” Pep’s style is like that.’
Meanwhile, a Madrid fan added: “This is the greatness of this team. We beat Jose (Pep Guardiola) a few times, last year we showed him who was boss in Europe and no gesture from the club. This is the difference.’
A final irate supporter claimed the celebration was unsurprising as they said, “What did you expect? It’s another cule (Barcelona fan). They are so bastid and mediocre. We beat Barca 4-0 (which knocked them out of the cup) at home and RM did nothing. That’s the difference between a serious and a good club, that one.’
After the win, Guardiola could hardly hide his delight at avenging last year’s heartbreaking semi-final defeat in the same competition after extra time.
He said: ‘This is the best thing, playing a great game against Real Madrid in the semi-finals of the Champions League.
“I wanted this draw because last year was so tough that we had all the energy there. Because it was said that these players were worthless, who had no character.
“I feel like we played with a stomach ache because of what happened to us.”