Amazon Prime Video has released a four-part series on Pep Guardiola‘s final two seasons at Manchester City, titled ‘A Beautiful Obsession‘ and it’s certainly an enthralling watch.

With the Catalan parting ways with City, a new era has begun, but there have certainly been a whole host of dramatic moments in the past two years, due to the trophies won in his final year, failed title bids and farewells to key players from a period of dominance.

Plus, it drops just over a week after Netflix released its own series focused on another iconic manager — Pep’s long-time rival José Mourinho. From rivals on the touchline, to rivals on separate streaming platforms, welcome to the modern age.

Regardless, this series hits harder because of the passion from Guardiola and that his exit is still fresh in football fans’ memories. As a result, we’ve picked out five moments that stand out as being incredible insights from this four-part documentary.

He Called Out Kyle Walker By Name — Then Called It His Own Failure

REUTERS/Issei Kato

After a difficult two-nil defeat at home to Liverpool in December 2024, a season in which the Reds romped to the title and ended City’s dominating run, Guardiola appeared to pin a significant amount of blame on now-former defender Kyle Walker.

The drama comes from Walker’s reply: “You keep saying my name in every meeting and every f—ing thing.”

That prompted an emotional response from the gaffer. “If you’ve taken it personally, Kyle, I’m sorry. This is my defeat.”

Walker was loaned to AC Milan in the January window and later moved to Burnley for the 2025/26 season, ending his successful period at the club. This looks to be a visible crack in a famously strong relationship that never recovered.

He Used His Own Divorce to Demand More Passion

Days on from that defeat, a Champions League defeat to Juventus was another poor result — a run that saw one win in 13. Following the loss to the Italians, Guardiola reacted by referencing his divorce, in what is a beautifully vulnerable moment which revolves around passion — something which he implored his players to strive for in any situation.

However, notably, he pivoted it straight into a demand:

The Leverkusen ‘Disgrace’

Another poor result in the same season came against Bayer Leverkusen. The two-nil home defeat had the Citizens on the ropes in the group phase, and it led to an emotionally-charged Guardiola outburst that surely had a strong impact on the squad.

“Because I work for you, I leave my life, my divorce, my family away and everything, for all of you. And what do you give back? The f—ing performance you have done, all of you. It’s a disgrace, guys.”

Two emotional outbursts, two European defeats and two personal admissions show how much passion Guardiola looks to instill into his players. They later recovered and qualified but were knocked out decisively by Real Madrid.

Kevin De Bruyne’s Exit Left Him in Tears

Two parts spring to mind when it comes to Kevin De Bruyne‘s departure. One, De Bruyne was visibly emotional when told his decade-long contract wasn’t being renewed — a moment that left Guardiola to say: “It kills me.”

The process of identifying his creative replacement — which would later end up being Lyon‘s Rayan Cherki — was also captured in the documentary and the focus on statistical recruitment analysis is truly fascinating.

In a boardroom, a group of analysts sat round discussing their transfer index analysis, claiming that Cherki could find himself at De Bruyne’s level of creativity in two years, according to the numbers. Then, they discussed his mentality, which, according to one source, was not positive.

Seeing a private conversation between CEO Ferran Soriano and Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak play out is incredible. Eventually, after speaking to four coaches, they agreed the concerning report was from an early part of Cherki’s career, and opted to move forward with the deal.

The Room Falls Silent When He Tells Them He’s Leaving

REUTERS/Peter Powell

Of course, the only place to end was Guardiola’s exit. This clip is him addressing his players, telling them of his exit at the end of the campaign. From a purely narrative standpoint, the series has been building up to this exact moment.

It’s a moment that inspires the players, as they go onto secure two domestic cup successes, beating Arsenal in the Carabao Cup and Chelsea in the FA Cup final.

When watched together with Mourinho’s own documentary landing barely a week earlier, the pair have handed football fans the perfect 2026/27 season preview.

A major leak at a Premier League stadium has been spotted this week, just two sleeps before they are set to kickstart their league campaign, as sunshine gives way to torrential rain across parts of England.

This summer has been one of the country’s hottest on record, as both England and Wales provisionally logged their driest July since 1836, alongside record-high sunshine durations just last month. Several areas have also reported droughts as heatwaves continue to damage greenery.

It has meant that, while football clubs have been battling to ensure their pitches aren’t too dry for the new season – which starts on Friday night as champions Arsenal welcome last season’s Championship table-toppers Coventry City – one club’s rain issue was left undetected until this week’s sudden change in weather.

Footage posted on social media showed rain hitting rows and rows of seats inside Aston Villa’s home stadium, with fears growing over just how soggy fans of Unai Emery’s side will get if the issue persists throughout the colder winter months. Watch the viral footage below:

Fortunately, last season’s Europa League victors begin their season away at Brighton before returning to Villa Park for their first home clash against champions Arsenal on August 31.

By then, supporters can hope the club has identified and resolved the stadium issue, avoiding the kind of criticism Manchester United faced when they hosted the Gunners in May 2024. Viral videos surfaced at the time showing Old Trafford streaming with water from the roof, prompting a chant from Manchester City supporters and plenty of jokes online.

Aston Villa’s Pre-Season Preparations Defined by Outgoings

Reuters/Anne-Marie Sorvin

It’s been a far-from-smooth summer for the West Midlands side, who have let go of a few key players and have hardly seen much luck in the other direction. That has prompted the more pessimistic side of the fanbase to expect a tough season ahead.

The Gunners picked up Ezri Konsa this week after losing out on Morgan Rogers, who headed to Chelsea for a record-breaking £116 million fee. Meanwhile, Youri Tielemans also left for Michael Carrick’s side.

But it is not all despair for the Villans, who will look to improve on their fourth-place finish last season after securing European football. They have also been linked with a number of possible additions as Emery looks to keep his side fighting near the top end of the Premier League.

West Ham’s Aaron Wan-Bissaka looks likely to join the Birmingham outfit on loan. Meanwhile, World Cup breakout star Johan Manzambi snubbed other English teams to join up with Emery’s men, alongside Joao Gomes from Wolves, earlier in the off-season.

An English club has been forced to issue a warning statement to their fans this week after their season opener was marred by an ‘offensive and divisive’ chant containing lyrics about Palestine.

The topic of Israel, Palestine, and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East has been the source of continued controversy and sensitivity ever since the war began, when Hamas launched a surprise cross-border attack from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

Since then, the Gaza Health Ministry has reported more than 73,000 deaths, with the UN having concluded just this year that Israel is responsible for four of the five acts constituting genocide under the 1948 Genocide Convention – including mass killings, causing serious bodily or mental harm, and inflicting conditions calculated to bring about physical destruction.

West Ham Issue Warning Statement to Fans as Manor Solomon Chant Goes Viral

The severity of events in Gaza hasn’t stopped West Ham fans from chanting about Palestine in reference to their new signing, Manor Solomon, who also represents the Israel national team. In their 2-2 Championship draw against Burnley last week, their first league fixture since Premier League relegation last term, a section of the away support could be heard singing about the player hating Palestine.

In a statement, West Ham said: “We understand that singing and chanting is a traditional and deeply embedded part of the matchday experience.

It continued: “Equality, equity, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of the club and we believe in the power of football to unite and bring people together. We expect those who represent the club – be that players, staff, officials or supporters – to share those values and ensure that, regardless of individual backgrounds or beliefs, we are as our name says: United. Let’s make sure our support is something to be proud of and the envy of all who face us.”

Solomon scored the Hammers’ second goal on his debut at Turf Moor. The 27-year-old winger moved from Tottenham this month for a reported £5m fee, having also played for Fulham and Leeds in England.

Israeli Supporters’ Group Also Condemn the Chant

via Reuters

The club’s Israeli supporters’ group, Israeli Hammers, said it fully supports the club’s position, as per The Athletic. “As the Israeli Hammers, we don’t encourage hatred towards Palestinians, or towards any group of people. Football should bring people together, and our message has always been one of peace, respect and support for West Ham,” read a statement.

Solomon, 27, was the subject of similar chants at Leeds in 2025, which the Premier League side condemned. In a statement released in February of that season, they said “hate crime and discriminatory language or chanting is not acceptable at Leeds United and the club has a zero-tolerance policy towards discrimination abuse of all kinds”.

Leeds additionally said any fan participating in the chant could face “action” against them “including the issuing of a club banning order”, which were threats of punishment not initially voiced by Solomon’s new club.