'They want me to be silent!' - Pep Guardiola fires back at critics of passionate speech about war and politics as Man City boss vows to keep talking about injustice

Guardiola used his last pre-match press conference to speak out against issues such as ICE's killing of protesters in Minnesota and the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, and he criticised journalists for not asking him more about issues beyond football. 

He had said: "Never, ever in the history of humanity have we had the info in front of our eyes, watching more clearly than now – genocide in Palestine, what happened in Ukraine, what happened in Russia, what happened all around the world, in Sudan, everywhere. What happened in front of us? Do you want to see it? It’s our problems as human beings. There is somebody who sees the images from all around the world who is not affected? Today we can see it. Before we could not see it. Today we see. It hurts me."

His words in particular about Israel's war in Gaza provoked a dressing down from a Manchester Jewish Group, who urged him to "focus on football" and "be more careful with his future language". When asked about the criticism on Friday ahead of City's next match against Liverpool, Guardiola defended his words.

Guardiola told a press conference: "To be honest, I didn't say anything or nothing special. I don't feel that. Why can I not express what I feel, just because I'm a [football] manager? I don't agree. But I respect absolutely all opinions. What I said basically is how many conflicts there are right now, all around the globe, around the world. How many? A lot, right? I condemn all of them. All of them. Innocent people being killed? I condemn all of them. I don't put that one selection is more important than the other ones, or this country more than the other one. No. You don't understand my message? It's fine. I cannot say otherwise..."

Guardiola, who spoke at a concert for Palestine in Barcelona the previous week where he urged the crowd "to not look the other way" over a conflict which has led to the killing of around 70,000 Palestinians, said it was wrong to suggest he could not speak out about politics or condemn violence just because he was a football coach. 

"OK, you focus on being a journalist as well," he said. "You cannot talk about economics, because you are not a journalist specifically about economics, right? You focus on football, [so] don't talk about that, don't talk about that, don't talk about that. That's why.

"They want [me] to remain silent, that is what the world wants, right? Be silent, and don't say anything. I think it's completely the opposite. But, anyway, it is what it is..."

Guardiola started without Erling Haaland in City's Carabao Cup semi-final second leg against Newcastle and watched Omar Marmoush thrive up front, scoring twice in the 3-1 win before eventually bringing on the Norwegian. 

The coach was asked whether Haaland would start at Anfield on Sunday despite not scoring in the Premier League in December and responded by simply declaring his No.9 to be the best striker in the world. "Erling is the best striker in the world," he said. "I don't know [if he plays], we'll decide tomorrow. Always I say, Erling is the best!"

City have only won one of their 1-0 trips to Anfield under Guardiola and that came when the stadium was empty due to coronavirus restrictions. Manchester United and Nottingham Forest are the only teams to have won at Anfield this season. The Reds are sixth in the Premier League table with eight points fewer than City but Guardiola said they were still a force to be reckoned with.

"They remain an exceptional team; a top class manager, and an exceptional team, no doubt," he said. "Moments are moments, seasons are seasons... Always they remain a good team!"