Pep Guardiola slammed over Man City fan protest
Pep Guardiola has been criticised for claiming he was “on the side of the fans” after many chose not to attend Man City’s win over Aston Villa.
Liverpool are set to claim the Sky Blues’ crown as champions of England this season, but City’s season is not yet over, with Champions League qualification hanging in the balance.
Guardiola’s side welcomed one of their rivals for a top-five spot, Aston Villa, to the Etihad on Tuesday evening (22 April), in a six-pointer for a place in Europe’s most prestigious competition.
Man City were able to claim a 2-1 win thanks to a late goal from exit-linked Matheus Nunes, but whilst much of the pre-match debate was on Ollie Watkins’ benching by Unai Emery, empty seats became the major talking point after the game.
With the clash being on a Tuesday evening, and ticket prices reportedly a minimum of £71 for adults, swathes of empty seats could be seen at the Etihad.
Simon Jordan tears into Pep Guardiola over ticket price comments
Speaking on talkSPORT the day after the game, Simon Jordan had some choice words for Guardiola, following the Spaniard’s post-match comments saying he was “on the side of the people” over the absences in the stands.
When asked by host Jim White what owners will do once the supply-and-demand dries up with ever-rising ticket prices, the former Crystal Palace chairman responded (23 April, 10.37am): “It won’t.
“And we don’t know if that’s season ticket holders that have not gone to the game.”
Jordan then explains away the low-attendance figures as potentially just being related to season ticket holders choosing to skip the game, before saying: “It does amuse me, in a sort of sardonic way, that football people sit there saying they’re on the side of fans.
“It’s your salaries and your wages that are driving up the price of football, that are ultimately making football clubs that have to deal with PSR charge fans more money for it, whether it’s the broadcasters paying £1.7billion if you’re Sky to get the broadcast rights, with all that money going to the players or managers, or whether it’s ticket prices, whatever else it is.
| Club | Average gate yield (home matches) | Average gate yield per fan |
| Arsenal | £5.1million | £84.66 |
| Tottenham | £4.9million | £79.68 |
| Man United | £4.3million | £58.93 |
| Liverpool | £3.1million | £55.61 |
| Man City | £2.7million | £50.63 |
“If you’ve got a £400million wage bill, don’t sit there and tell me you’re a man of the people and ultimately understand the relatability of what the fans are doing, because you’re getting £15million-a-year.
“It’s the inflation of player salaries, alongside player fees, alongside the ridiculous obscenity of how much is being removed from the game by the agents fraternity that are driving prices up.
“So don’t tell me about the owners, who pumped hundreds of millions of pounds into this football club, and built it into something that it never was before and then [you] have a go at the owners about their pricing policy on tickets.”
White asks if Guardiola is being “disingenuous” with his comments, to which Jordan responds: “I think he’s away with himself. I think some people within football live in a bubble in which they’re so unaware, they’re so far behind the race that they actually think they are winning.”
Simon Jordan unsurprisingly sides with Man City owners
Football Insider Verdict
Having been Palace chairman from 2002 to 2010, Jordan’s comments on City’s manager come as no surprise.
However, his opinion on who is to blame for rising ticket prices is thoroughly misguided and unjust, as much as he would like you to believe, Guardiola and fellow Premier League managers are not to blame for rising ticket prices.
As mentioned by White, football clubs operate on a supply and demand basis when it comes to their pricing models for tickets, and with Premier League football in high demand, owners are looking to squeeze as much profit from fans as they can.
Suggesting that a club like City are being backed into a corner by the high wage demands of Guardiola is ludicrous. The Sky Blues want one of the best managers in the world and the Spaniard is well within his rights to want to be paid as such.
City earned a record £175.9million [The Guardian] for finishing top of the Premier League last season, and that’s before you factor in the guarantee of £15.7million for just qualifying for the Champions League, or the other avenues of financial gain from the club, largely off the back of the success brought by the former Barcelona manager and his playing staff.
The club are not financially struggling and then forced to raise their ticket prices as a consequence, that’s proven by the profits posted of £73.8million for the 2023/24 season [Man City].
What’s more, whilst agent fees are a frustrating thing to see your club shell out on, they exist as a necessary evil as a consequence of club owners and chairmen, much like Jordan once was, trying to exploit young players by underpaying them, as they are not often well-educated in the world of business dealings.