MANCHESTER: Basketball legend Michael Jordan joined thousands of Manchester City fans paying tribute to Pep Guardiola at the manager&#39;s farewell party on Monday. Guardiola is about to step down after a glorious decade in charge of City and the Premier League club gave him a fitting send-off during a trophy parade in Manchester. Jordan, one of the NBA&#39;s all-time greats, was a surprise participant in the event, delivering a recorded video message saluting Guardiola. &quot;Hey Pep. This is Michael Jordan. I just wanted to congratulate you on an unbelievable career,&quot; the former Chicago Bulls star said as Guardiola watched the video on a screen inside the Co-op Live &#39;after-party&#39; following the parade. Referencing Guardiola&#39;s fondness for golf, Jordan quipped &quot;Enjoy your retirement. Good luck on the links and keep them straight. Congratulations.&quot; Earlier, fans lined the streets to salute Guardiola as the Spaniard joined City&#39;s players and staff on an open-top bus ride to the Etihad Stadium. Guardiola led City to the FA Cup and League Cup in his final season in charge, taking his trophy haul to 20 since arriving in 2016. He masterminded six Premier League title victories, as well as City&#39;s first Champions League crown in 2023. City finished second in the Premier League behind champions Arsenal this term and were beaten 2-1 at home by Aston Villa in Guardiola&#39;s last game on Sunday, with the boss reduced to tears after the final whistle. The 55-year-old&#39;s decision to leave City was officially announced on Friday after several days of speculation that he was set to quit. A host of current and former City players brought every trophy won during Guardiola&#39;s reign onto the Co-op Live stage to cheers from the sell-out 19,000 crowd. Guardiola said goodbye for the final time in an interview with Oasis rock star Noel Gallagher at the after-party. &quot;I think, first of all, thank you so much for coming tonight to say bye,&quot; Guardiola said. &quot;To say bye to John (Stones) and Bernie (Bernardo Silva) and all these incredible legends like Vinny (Vincent Kompany), Fernandinho, Eddy (Ederson), Jack (Grealish), all of them and many, many more. &quot;I feel tonight that really shows the connection this club has. (City chairman) Khaldoon Al Mubarak and all the people and all the City fans that were connected from the first minute. &quot;Thank you so much, I don&#39;t have enough gratitude. Always, for the rest of my life, I will have you in my heart. Thank you so much.&quot;

Manchester City's English defender #05 John Stones (centre right) and Manchester City's Portuguese midfielder #20 Bernardo Silva (centre left) say goodbye at an after-party event with the players after their victories in the two domestic cup competitions 

Football

Guardiola is about to step down after a glorious decade in charge of City and the Premier League club gave him a fitting send-off during a trophy parade in Manchester.

Guardiola saluted by Michael Jordan at Manchester City farewell party

MANCHESTER: Martin Odegaard said he still believes Arsenal can win a first Premier League title since 2004 despite their devastating 2-1 defeat to Manchester City on Sunday.&nbsp;Pep Guardiola&#39;s City will leapfrog the Gunners if they beat struggling Burnley on Wednesday as they hunt a seventh league title in nine seasons.&nbsp;Erling Haaland scored the winner in the second half at the Etihad Stadium after Rayan Cherki&#39;s superb opener was cancelled out by Kai Havertz.&nbsp;Arsenal captain Odegaard said the game was decided on small margins.&nbsp;&quot;We played a good game, I thought we pressed them really well, we had some really good moments there on the high press,&quot; the midfielder told Sky Sports.&nbsp;&quot;And then, especially the second half, we looked a lot more dangerous, we had a few big, big moments there in front of goal.&nbsp;&quot;Small margins to decide a game like this, and we weren&#39;t sharp enough in front of the goals. That&#39;s why we go home with nothing, so I&#39;m disappointed.&quot;&nbsp;Arsenal have suffered seven defeats in 55 matches this season, in all competitions. Three of those came in the first 49 matches, with four in the past six.&nbsp;Odegaard was asked whether Mikel Arteta&#39;s men, who host Newcastle next week, would have the added difficulty of a &quot;psychological barrage&quot; following their collapse in form.&nbsp;&quot;There&#39;s always that in football, there&#39;s always pressure, always noise, and that&#39;s a part of being a football player at this level, so that&#39;s completely normal to us,&quot; said the midfielder.&nbsp;&quot;We&#39;re just going to keep going, stay focused on ourselves like we&#39;ve done the whole season -- just look forward to the next game now and bounce back, get a win there and move on.&quot;

Martin Odegaard insists Arsenal can still win the Premier League despite a 2-1 loss to Manchester City, blaming missed chances and small margins while urging focus and recovery.

Articles tagged with "Pep Guardiola"

Guardiola saluted by Michael Jordan at Manchester City farewell party

Arsenal still believe in title hopes despite City loss: Odegaard

Guardiola saluted by Michael Jordan at Manchester City farewell party