“He’s getting sacked in the morning” - Gary Neville mocks Pep Guardiola with message on X after Manchester City draw Salford in FA Cup third round
Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville mocked Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola after the Spaniard's side drew Salford City in the third round of the FA Cup. The Englishman sent a message to the 53-year-old on X, claiming that he is on the verge of getting sacked.
Neville is part of Project 92 Limited, the company that wholly owns Salford City. It consists of United's famous Class of 92 - the former right-back and his brother Phil, Nicky Butt, David Beckham, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs.
Neville recently bought out co-owner Peter Lim's share in the club (August 2024), making him the majority shareholder. Under the guidance of the legendary sextuplet, Salford have risen through the English footballing ranks and currently find themselves in EFL League Two.
They beat fellow fourth-division side Cheltenham Town 2-0 in the second round on November 30 to make it to the third round. It will be the first time that they will play at this stage of the competition in club history.
Meanwhile, City are currently on the worst run of form in the Pep Guardiola era at the club. They have lost six and drawn one of their last seven games, and risk missing out on a trophy for the first time since the Spaniard's first season in charge (2016/17).
After the fixture was revealed, Neville took to X to poke fun at Guardiola, writing:
"He's getting sacked in the morning @SalfordCityFC."
Salford City will take on defending Premier League champions Manchester City in the third round of the FA Cup on January 11, 2025.
"I didn't expect it" - Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola reacts to Liverpool fans' chants predicting his 'sacking'
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola expressed his surprise after Liverpool fans aimed the ever-famous 'sacked in the morning' chant at him. The supporters sang in chorus during the Reds' 2-0 win over the Cityzens on Sunday, December 1.
A terrible run of form has left City languishing in unfamiliar territory on the Premier League table. After 13 rounds of fixtures, they sit in fifth place on 23 points (seven wins, two draws, four losses), a whopping 11 points behind runaway leaders Liverpool.
They also sit 17th in the Champions League standings, facing the risk of coming through the play-offs to make it to the Round of 16 in the competition.
The loss to Arne Slot's side was their sixth in their last seven fixtures, which led to the chants from the opposition's supporters. Speaking after the game, the Manchester City boss expressed his surprise, saying:
"All the stadiums want to sack me, it started at Brighton (2-1 loss)! Maybe they are right with the results we've been having. I didn't expect that at Anfield. They didn't do it at 1-0, but at 2-0. Maybe they should have sung it in the past."
"I didn't expect it from the people from Liverpool but it's fine, it's part of the game, and I understand completely. We've had incredible battles together. I have respect for them," Guardiola added.
Guardiola will be desperate to get Manchester City out of their rut and secure a win in their upcoming fixture - a Premier League match-up against Nottingham Forest (December 4).