Pep Guardiola, wife to ‘give marriage a second chance’ after Barcelona reconciliation meeting

Pep Guardiola and his wife Cristina Serra are reportedly trying to reconcile their marriage, after the Man City boss spent three days with her in Barcelona over Easter.

Guardiola and Serra, a fashion entrepreneur, met back in 1994 and married in 2014.

News of their shock split became public in January, with reports the following month that the couple had begun divorce proceedings.

According to Catalan newspaper El Nacional, Guardiola and Serra are reportedly prepared to ‘give each other another chance’ and state that ‘all is not lost in their marriage.’

The report claims the Man City boss had returned to Barcelona over Easter and stayed in the family’s mansion in the city.

Previous reports have claimed Guardiola’s unexpected decision last November to renew his contract with the Premier League club for another two years had been a key factor in the split.

Pep Guardiola reportedly made a commitment to Cristina Serra in a bid to save their marriage

Guardiola’s decision to sign an two-year deal at Man City reportedly contributed to the split

Guardiola reportedly spent three days in Barcelona over Easter in a bid to reconcile with Serra

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Serra returned to Barcelona with their youngest child in 2019 to focus on her business interests and was reportedly to have decided to split with Guardiola after learning of his decision to stay in the UK until 2027.

The latest report claims Guardiola has pledge to visit Barcelona once a week, then leave again due to his role as Man City head coach.

Maria Lapiedra, who is married to Barcelona based journalist Gustavo Gonzalez, told the outlet that Guardiola had made the commitment to prevent the couple going weeks without seeing each other.

The report also claims both Guardiola and Serra continue to wear their wedding rings, an apparent display that the couple of 30 years are seeking to reconcile.

Guardiola and Serra married in an intimate ceremony on the outskirts of Barcelona in 2014 but decided to part ways in December.

The couple, who met in 1994, had been living apart for more than five years after Serra moved back to Barcelona with one of their three daughters, Valentina, 17, while Guardiola remained in Manchester.

They have two other children together: Maria, 24 and Marius, 22.

Guardiola and Serra had remained a couple despite not living in the same city and have regularly been pictured together in the years since.

Serra, who had been with Guardiola for 30 years, had been living away from her husband

Guardiola reportedly made the commitment to fly back to Barcelona once a week to see Serra

Spanish outlet Sport reported earlier this year that the decision to end their marriage was made in December, with only members of their inner circle aware of the split. Their trusted friends and family have also been told not to disclose any further information, according to the publication.

Serra decided to leave Manchester in 2019 to help oversee the fashion company owned by her family, Serra Claret, which stocks several brands the City manager is often seen wearing.

Guardiola and Serra met while the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss was modelling for designer Antonio Miro in the shop in the Spanish city.

They began a long-distance relationship when Guardiola was a footballer, before they bought a home together in Barcelona. The couple later moved to Germany when Guardiola was manager of Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich.

Pep Guardiola, wife to ‘give marriage a second chance’ after Barcelona reconciliation meeting

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Flying Eagles beat Egypt 2-1 in U-20 AFCON warm-up

Nigeria’s U-20 national team, the Flying Eagles, defeated their Egyptian counterparts 2-1 in a friendly match on Tuesday in Cairo, ahead of the 2025 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the tournament will take place in Egypt from April 27 to May 18.

Kparobo Arierhi gave Nigeria the lead in the 10th minute after receiving a fine pass from Bidemi Amole and coolly slotting it home.

Egypt equalised in the 65th minute through Ahmed Kaabaka, but Nigeria regained the lead in the 83rd minute when Precious Benjamin scored from the penalty spot.

The penalty came after Divine Oliseh was fouled in the box.

The win is a big boost for Nigeria, who arrived in Egypt on Sunday for the 17th U-20 AFCON.

Nigeria, the seven-time champions, is in Group B and will play its first match against Tunisia on Thursday. It will also face Morocco and Kenya in the group stage.

NAN reports that the top four teams from the tournament will qualify to represent Africa at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Chile slated for Sept. 27 to October 19. (NAN)

Osimhen to rake in N136bn from Man United

Super Eagles’ ace striker, Victor Osimhen, will reportedly earn at least a  staggering One Hundred Thirty-Six Billion , Two Hundred Thirty-Three Million  and Six Hundred Sixty-Four Thousand Naira if he eventually  switched  to  Manchester United  in  the summer, even as  Al Wehdah striker Odion Ighalo has urged  his former  national teammate to  explore a life-time opportunity to play in the English Premier League.

In the meantime, several  Turkish outlets have claimed that Manchester United  are close to finalising a deal for Osimhen, who remains a Galatasaray player until the end of the season.

The on-loan frontman has faced a hugely uncertain future over the last year due to how his fiery Napoli exit panned out; after clashing heads with Antonio Conte, he was stripped of his number and removed from the side’s Serie A squad list before the season began, leaving him little to no time to agree a deal with a suitor before the transfer deadline.

When a move to Al Ahli collapsed in the final stages, Osimhen signed for Galatasaray with no buy option included in the terms. As such, he now has only two months remaining in Turkey before he’ll have to return to Napoli and hold some pretty crucial talks over his next steps.

Osimhen has long been linked with an Old Trafford switch over the years, primarily because he poses as a direct solution to their flagrant goal-scoring woes.

The Nigerian international boasts a stunning 143 career goals in 257 appearances, including 29 goals – and a further six assists – in only 34 appearances this term.

Turkish journalist Aygun Ozipek claimed  the 26-year-old has agreed a five-year deal with the Red Devils for a fee of £51 million, with the player said to have negotiated a salary worth £12.8m (about N27,246,732,800)  per year.

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Meanwhile, Ighalo has counselled  Osimhen to consider a move to the Premier League this summer and feels what it looks like to play in the most exciting league in the world.

Speaking on a podcast hosted by former national beach soccer team’s star,  Abu Azeez, Ighalo shared his thoughts on the ongoing transfer brouhaha surrounding Osimhen.

“My advice would be for him to try the Premier League, but ultimately, he knows what’s best for himself,” Ighalo disclosed .”People can say all they want, but only the player knows what’s truly in his heart and mind.

“Whatever decision he makes, he has my full support—101%,” he added.

In a related development,  Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim has admitted that it is “impossible” to win games with misfiring forwards following his side’s 1-0 defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday.

Rasmus Hojlund once again failed to find the back of the net, meaning he now only has one goal in his last 28 appearances for the Red Devils, and the Denmark international continues to be linked with a summer exit amid his woes in front of goal.

Yet Amorim was eager to avoid responding to transfer rumours despite the fact that Osimhen, Liam Delap and Hugo Ekitike have all been tipped to join Man Utd during the 2025 summer window.

“We will address that in the end,” Amorim admitted to reporters when asked about his side’s pursuit of a new centre forward.

“Of course we have a plan and we talk about that every day but the season is not over so let’s focus on that.

 “It’s a team thing. Of course we have an idea of what this team needs but also the guys we play with, we play at least three guys in front to score goals and we have midfielders… all the team needs to score more goals and you have opportunities with the midfielders and the striker.

“We need to improve as a team because if you don’t score goals in this league it’s impossible to win games.”

Osimhen to rake in N136bn from Man United