Young Manchester United mascot makes cheeky request to Pep Guardiola as Manchester City boss walks past him ahead of Community Shield clash
A Manchester United mascot asked Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola to consider becoming the England national men's team manager before the sides' FA Community Shield clash. FA Cup champions Manchester United and Premier League champions Manchester City squared off in the 102nd edition of the Community Shield on Saturday, August 10.
Upon reaching the Webley Stadium, the Manchester City boss was welcomed by a collection of mascots. However, one of the mascots in a Manchester United kit took a bold step by approaching Guardiola to make a formal request without considering rivalry. Walking up to Pep Guardiola, he said (via The Sun):
"Sign with England and lead us to World Cup victory."
However, Guardiola didn’t appear to give the audacious mascot a response, as he only looked at him, marveled at his boldness, and walked into the stadium.
After their disappointing defeat in the Euro 2024 final to Spain, Gareth Southgate stepped down from his role as the England manager. The FA is looking for a replacement and English fans would love for Guardiola to take up the position.
Pep Guardiola takes dig at Manchester United and Arsenal's transfer spending
Prior to the Community Shield, Pep Guardiola took aim at Manchester United at Arsenal, saying that it is only news when Manchester City spend money in the transfer market. City are one of the few teams that have been relatively quiet in terms of incomings in the 2024–25 summer transfer window.
The current Premier League champions have only signed one player so far. They signed Savinho for a reported €40 million last month from Troyes and are yet to make additional signings.
On the other hand, United and Arsenal have spent around €150 million between them, with Leny Yoro and Joshua Zirkzee moving to Old Trafford and Riccardo Calafiori moving to the Emirates Stadium.
Pep Guardiola felt that the media’s focus would have been on them if they had made such signings. He said (via GOAL):
"Yes, many years they have done it. Many years but it's not news. It's just when City spend money. Of course I am concerned for many years [about] how good they are. Because every year they are better and getting better. You see Arsenal playing at the same level as last season, I saw the game against [Bayer] Leverkusen - they are on fire. Every year looks more difficult; United will be back, you know? They bought players and everyone wants the crown that we have [had] for four years."
While the Cityzens have spent heavily during their recent period of dominance, their net spend is relatively lower than that of Arsenal, Chelsea, and Manchester United in the last five years.