Pep Guardiola destroyed as DIVORCE blamed in brutal attack on Man City’s struggles

Pep Guardiola destroyed as DIVORCE blamed in brutal attack on Man City’s struggles

Pep Guardiola has been unable to work his usual magic at Manchester City this season, and one Arsenal great believes he know why "something has broken" at the Etihad

Pep Guardiola's divorce with wife Cristina Serra has been blamed for Man City's failings (Image: James Whitehead/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images )

Former Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Petit has suggested Pep Guardiola's divorce could be responsible for Manchester City's plummet in form. The Gunners icon even went so far as to say "something has broken" with the legendary tactician after a testing period in the club's history.

City currently sit fifth in the Premier League heading into their game against Leicester City on Wednesday evening. They're closely followed by Newcastle in sixth and Brighton in seventh, each of whom are just one point behind.

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Reports surfaced in February that Guardiola and his wife, Cristina Serra, had commenced divorce procedures, though the coach is understood to have travelled to Barcelona in March in an attempt to save his marriage. However, it's Petit's belief the off-field drama is at least partly to blame for City's downfall.

"Something has been broken with him," he told Poker Firma. "I don't want to talk about his private matters, but I think what happened outside the pitch, maybe had a big impact on him. Maybe the players saw that. . .To be honest with Pep Guardiola, I think he has private matters that had an impact on not only as a manager, but as well as a human being."

Petit, who clinched the Premier League and FA Cup during his stint at Arsenal, also referenced City's 115 charges for alleged financial misconduct as a factor in their slide from greatness. And that pressure coupled with the hardship he's facing his personal life could well have played a hand in standards deteriorating on the pitch.

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"We don't know what's actually going on with Manchester City, what will be the punishment with the club if they are found guilty of the charges," he continued. "So there is a question actually, maybe the hardship will force him to come back stronger. But again, as a human being, I think he's been through difficult times."

City's upcoming FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest is now the club's only chance to finish this season with silverware in tow. The English giants fell out of the Champions League in the knockout-stage play-offs, while their Carabao Cup exit at Tottenham's hands came as a major shock.

Emmanuel Petit believes Guardiola's personal life is partly behind City's fall from grace (Image: Jean Catuffe/Getty Images )

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For any faults of the coach, Petit also believes Guardiola has been let down by a squad that seems tired and possibly complacent after rampant success in recent seasons. That being said, the World Cup winner also thinks the manager has struggled to find solutions from the sidelines as he once did so expertly.

"I think the fact that they didn't buy new players during last summer had an impact on the players," added Petit. "I think a lot of players looked tired mentally and physically this season and starting with Pep Guardiola as well on the bench. He showed it so many times. He lost his temper.

"He showed so many times that he was not controlling his emotion on the pitch and off the pitch as well. He's had so many arguments with his players at the end of games this season. Against Brighton with the goalkeeper, the way he scratched his head as well, you could see that something wrong was happening to the team.

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""The way he was sometimes clueless as well on the bench. He was not able to find the right solution. This is something that was new for me to watch because I always saw that he always had ideas to find solutions, answers to his team problems. And this season I think he was not able to do that."

That head-scratching episode against Feyenoord came at a time when City was enduring a record streak of poor form, mustering just one win in 13 games. And the more regular displays of emotion (and not good ones) is perhaps the best indicator that something has indeed changed within Guardiola.

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