Man City manager Pep Guardiola accuses Israel of 'massacres' in Gaza and says 'the world has abandoned Palestine' in outspoken new remarks

Pep Guardiola has delivered an impassioned speech about the conflict in Gaza, saying the world has 'abandoned' Palestinians.

The Manchester City manager, who hasn't been shy in voicing his opinion about world issues in the past, delivered his verdict while speaking on Spanish radio on Monday. 

'Every time I imagine what is happening to the people of Palestine, it's that the whole world has left them alone,' the 54-year-old told RAC1 radio. 

'But I imagine the people there waiting for us to lift a finger, to do something, and that no one has done anything at all. They are not to blame for being born in Palestine. The boys or girls, fathers or mothers, or grandmothers and grandfathers born there. 

'There, for a very long time now, we have allowed the destruction of an entire people. Because they say, "don't say genocide", I wonder what it is then. The people who live there, we've abandoned them.

'I can't imagine a person in this world who could defend this. I can't wrap my head around it. I know Jewish people, we all do, we know people from Israel. I haven't met anyone who would defend it, the images we see. 

'And the way the world is set up, be it [Benjamin] Netanyahu, [Donald] Trump, [Volodymyr] Zelensky, Trump again, [Vladimir] Putin, whoever it is, because it's not about siding with who is right. It's that they see the images and our children could be there.

'I have little faith. Given how the world has been in recent years, there has always been little faith in regular leaders. I believe leaders do intend to do things well, to fix things so people can live better.

'I am absolutely taking the side of Palestine, the innocent people who are murdered daily, because the man drawing this up decides what he decides. Because if he is not capable of solving it through a ceasefire, gesture, the symbolism you mentioned, and only through force. One has extremely powerful weapons and the other does not, then you tell me.'

Guardiola was speaking ahead of Tuesday's ACT x Palestine charity friendly between Catalonia and Palestine at the Lluis Companys Stadium in Barcelona. 

More than 25,000 tickets have been sold for the match with all proceedings going towards funding humanitarian aid and reconstruction in Gaza. 

Around 70,000 Palestinians have been killed since the October 7 attacks of 2023, according to numbers from the Gaza Health Ministry. 

'It's more than just a symbolic match,' the former Barcelona boss said of the charity game this week. 

'These days, everyone knows everything and with this game, the Palestinians will see that there's a part of the world that cares about them.' 

It comes just a week after a raft of Premier League stars and former England cricketer Moeen Ali were among around 70 sportspeople to sign a letter demanding UEFA suspend Israel from international competitions.  

The group called Athletes 4 Peace are putting pressure on the European football's governing body to set aside the recent ceasefire and ban Israel.

In September, a United Nations commission of inquiry concluded that the country has committed genocide against Palestine in Gaza.

Athletes 4 Peace provided the letter to president Aleksander Ceferin saying the group is 'deeply disturbed by the lack of moral action taken by UEFA regarding the suspension of Israel from European football'.

Crystal Palace’s Chadi Riad and Cheick Doucoure are among other higher profile names on the list, with ex-England cricket star Ali and former Leicester City manager Nigel Pearson also signatories.

'No shared venue, stage, or arena in international civil society should welcome a regime that commits genocide, apartheid and other crimes against humanity,' the letter says.

'Israel’s continued impunity for such crimes will only be ended by the weight of collective conscientious action, including measures to block their entry to sporting or cultural events and activities.'