Will Champions League be Guardiola's Man City regret?
In the Champions League, his three titles - two with Barca and one with City - put him among the greats with only five-time winner Carlo Ancelotti having won more. But a 5-1 aggregate defeat by Real Madrid in the last 16 represents another missed opportunity and leaves many wondering what might have been. In the 15 years since lifting the Champions League trophy with Barcelona in 2011, his second with the Catalan club having also won it in 2009, Guardiola has only had his hands on the trophy once - a maiden title for City when they did the Treble in 2023.
Guardiola himself would perhaps be disappointed with that yield, having come so close to adding to that tally on several occasions with City. "We have an extraordinary team and extraordinary group of players, the future is bright," said the defiant City boss after Tuesday's exit. But, given the uncertainty around his future in Manchester beyond this season, questions will be asked around whether this was the 55-year-old's last chance to win the coveted trophy.
It is clear Guardiola sees the Champions League as the pinnacle - seldom is he more animated than on a big European night. That image of Guardiola, head in hands on the touchline or wearing a concerned look and throwing arms in the air in frustration, is not an uncommon sight. Fans will remember Guardiola brought to his knees in the quarter-final against Tottenham in 2019 when Raheem Sterling's last-minute winner was ruled out for offside.
They will recall him waving his arms in frustration at the same stage against Lyon a year later. Defeat in the final by Chelsea in 2021 also stung but when City ground out a 1-0 win in the 2023 final against Inter Milan to win their first European title and complete a historic Treble, fans might have expected that to open the floodgates for more European success. Instead, they have only won a single Champions League knockout tie since - against Copenhagen - and have lost nine of their past 17 European games.
Four-time Champions League winner Clarence Seedorf told Amazon Prime: "There is no discussion about Pep's quality as a coach. He makes a choice and it is [an attacking] philosophy - he wants to score one more than the opponent. "But it comes at a high price when you play against the best players in the world at a certain point - [in] quarter-finals and semi-finals.