Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola missed media duties ahead of his side’s trip to Tottenham for personal reasons on Friday.
The City boss was due to hold a lunchtime press conference to preview Sunday’s Premier League game but the club later confirmed assistant boss Pep Lijnders would take his place.
The club said Guardiola was not present due to a personal reason.
Addressing the matter, Lijnders said: “The manager is good, as always, full of ambition and passion but it is a personal matter. He will arrive back here in Manchester today."
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It comes after Guardiola gave a speech in support of Palestinian children at a charity concert in his home city of Barcelona on Thursday.
He was the manager of the Spanish giants from 2008 to 2012, winning his first Champions League with the side.
It was a quick turnaround as Guardiola was on the touchline at the Etihad during Manchester City's Champions League clash against Galatasaray on Wednesday.
The eight-time Premier League winners cruised to a 2-0 victory.
Pep Guardiola has missed the Manchester City press conference
|GETTY
Guardiola's Manchester City are currently 2nd in the Premier League.
They have reached the EFL Cup semi-finals and Champions League Round of 16 for the 2025-2026 season.
Guardiola recently achieved his 400th victory as the club's manager.
His contract at the club expires at the end of next season, fuelling speculation around his future in the league.
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Five things to know about Man City boss Pep Guardiola | GETTY/GBNEWSDuring his speech in Barcelona, Guardiola spoke in support of children who had lost their parents during the war in Gaza.
Wearing a black and white Palestinian keffiyeh, the Spanish manager said: "I think what we think when I see a child in these past two years with these images on social media, on television, recording himself, pleading ‘where is my mother?’ among the rubble, and he still doesn’t know it.
"And I always think: what must they be thinking? And I think we have left them alone, abandoned.
"The powerful are cowards because they send innocent people to kill innocent people... while they are at home with heating when it’s cold and air conditioning when it’s hot."
Pep Guardiola has risked reigniting an antisemitism feud after he voiced his support for the people of Palestine in a speech on Thursday
| GETTYHe added: "All of this is simply about humanity. Which is everything that is not happening in Palestine."
Guardiola received a standing ovation after his three-minute speech.
Manchester City will travel to Tottenham on Sunday, where they have historically struggled over the north Londoners.
Since the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium opened in April 2019, City has achieved only two wins in eight attempts across all competitions, losing five of their initial visits without scoring a goal in those games.
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