Pep Guardiola reveals he’d ‘love’ to welcome former Manchester City star back!

Pep Guardiola is not a man who publicly admits regret. He is not the type of manager who looks back or shows weakness. For years, he has built Manchester City into a machine that never stops, never hesitates, never looks behind. But football has a way of exposing the heart even inside the most tactical mind. And today, the whole world saw it. Because when Pep Guardiola faced the media and spoke about Julián Álvarez, his voice was strong, but his truth was louder. If he had the power, if football allowed do-overs, he would bring the boy back home to Manchester City without thinking twice.

“He’s performing incredibly well. I’d love to have him now… but I understand.” Those words hit every Manchester City supporter like a punch to the chest. Guardiola is not talking about a random striker somewhere in Europe. He is talking about a World Cup winner, a Champions League winner, a treble-winning warrior, a footballer who gave everything with no noise and no ego. Julián Álvarez was that silent weapon who always delivered when called upon. But City became too strong — and sometimes, being too strong means losing good soldiers along the way.

Guardiola remembered that treble year like it was yesterday. His biggest success and his most difficult moment at the same time. Because while the whole world was celebrating history, he knew the sacrifices inside the squad. Aymeric Laporte, an absolute world-class defender, sometimes sat on the bench. Julián Álvarez, a generational striker, sometimes watched matches without playing. Even when they trained like monsters, even when they obeyed, even when they never complained, there was still someone ahead of them — someone who had to play because the team was on another level. In Julián’s case, that competition was Erling Haaland, a striker who breaks football logic.

Álvarez did not leave Manchester City because he hated anyone. He did not leave because of anger or disrespect. He left because he needed to breathe. Every footballer dreams of being the hero who scores every weekend, not the warrior who waits for 20-minute cameos. Álvarez was too good to be a backup forever. And City were too good to stop the machine from rolling. Sometimes a player and a club love each other but cannot stay together. That is the tragedy behind every big career decision.

Now at Atlético Madrid, Álvarez is not surviving — he is exploding. He is playing like a man who wants to prove nothing to anybody but everything to himself. Sixty-seven matches, thirty-six goals, eleven assists, leading the attack for Diego Simeone like he was born to wear the badge. Atlético fans love him, his manager trusts him blindly, and La Liga defenders have started to fear him. And while Manchester City is still winning matches, the memory of what they lost is now becoming harder to ignore. They didn’t just lose a striker. They lost a future leader. They lost a guy who kills games with one chance. They lost the person who would run through a wall before letting the team down. And Guardiola knows it.

For maybe the first time in public, he admitted his heart wishes he still had Álvarez. Not because Haaland is failing. Not because City are collapsing. But because football is not just tactics, numbers and roles. Football is also connection. Guardiola trusted Álvarez. He relied on Álvarez. He admired Álvarez. And today, he misses Álvarez.

Those final conversations between man and manager tell the full story. Julián Álvarez revealed it with his own voice: no fights, no anger, no bad words, no broken doors. Only gratitude and respect. Pep said thank you. Julián said thank you. No one hurt the club. Nobody disrespected anyone. It was goodbye between two people who still cared about each other. The world tried to create drama out of nothing, but Álvarez shut it down. He said he never caused trouble. He never complained. And Pep confirmed it. Julián left like a gentleman, and Pep saw him go like a man who understood everything but wished life worked differently.

Today, when Guardiola says he wants him back, it’s not just honesty — it’s pain. Because managers do not publicly praise ex-players for nothing. Guardiola is the type who lets go and moves forward. But not this time. The longing in his words shows how special Álvarez was. The regret shows how good Álvarez is now. And the reality shows how impossible it is for Manchester City to replace him properly.

Football is cruel because sometimes both sides were right. Álvarez was right to leave. Guardiola was right to let him go. But both of them now know they lost something precious. And the rest of the world is paying attention.

Chelsea tried. Liverpool asked. Barcelona monitored. Bayern Munich checked. Everybody wants Álvarez because forwards like him don’t exist everywhere. Strong but humble. Young but experienced. A poacher but also a playmaker. A killer on the pitch but soft-spoken off it. A leader who doesn’t need to shout. Coaches love players like that. Teammates love players like that. Fans love players like that. Clubs spend years looking for players like that. And City already had one — now he is gone.

If Manchester City could click their fingers and bring Álvarez home right now, they would. But football doesn’t work like that. Atlético will not give him away. Simeone will not let him go. The fans will not allow it. Álvarez already has a new kingdom. His life is bigger than the past. But every warrior remembers the place where he became a champion. And one day, when contracts expire and when football opens doors again, nobody can predict where destiny will take him

Right now there is no war. No disrespect. No drama. Only longing.

Guardiola looks at Álvarez and sees the player he wants. Álvarez looks at City and sees the club that raised him. But life has taken them in different directions. Maybe one day the circle returns. Maybe the blue shirt becomes a second chapter. Maybe Haaland leaves in the future. Maybe tactics change. Maybe destiny gets bored and decides to surprise everyone again.

For now, Pep Guardiola can only watch from a distance as the striker he once called a treasure destroys La Liga defenders every weekend. And deep down, the City fans feel the same thing: pride and pain mixed together. Pride because Julián Álvarez is a success story that began in Manchester. Pain because he is not doing it at the Etihad Stadium anymore.

Football is a mirror of life. Sometimes the right decision still hurts.

And maybe that is why Guardiola finally let his heart speak. Because even the greatest manager of his generation, the genius who built a dynasty, can still look back one day and whisper to himself: