• [Dailystar Icon]
• Sport
• Football
• Pep Guardiola

Pep Guardiola is the greatest manager of all time but looks lost, confused and helpless

"Pep Guardiola looks lost, confused and helpless - and the most damning fact of all is staring him and his Manchester City bosses in the face"

[Pep Guardiola speaking to TNT Sports]

Pep Guardiola's Manchester City now resemble a team suffering from neglect and a lack of planning(Image: TNT Sports)

The empire Pep Guardiola built continues to crumble.

And it seems there is nothing the Spaniard can do to rebuild the rubble left all around him. One night in Paris was all it took to remind the footballing world just how sour Guardiolas romance with Manchester City has become.

He looked broken - as well as beaten - in the wake of his sides 4-2 capitulation in the Parc des Princes on Wednesday night. He looked like a man who hasnt slept for weeks. Someone who goes to bed and stares at a ceiling which has now fallen in on him.

One look at the fixture list might be enough for Guardiola to close his eyes, at least. Chelsea, Arsenal, Newcastle, Liverpool and Nottingham Forest all lie in wait for the English champions in the coming weeks.

Not to mention Club Brugge, who City have to beat just to secure a place in the top 24 of the Champions League. If this happens, and its now a big if, their reward will be two more games in a play-off Guardiolas battered squad doesnt need.

[Manchester City were embarrassed in Paris after throwing away a two-goal lead]

Manchester City were embarrassed in Paris after throwing away a two-goal lead(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Just to make it to the knockout stages of a competition in which City could well get a hiding, should they come up against a European super power. City now resemble a team suffering from neglect and a lack of planning.

PSG were faster, fitter and younger than them in the French capital. Luis Enriques side were reminiscent of the one Guardiola used to have two years ago.

The one that swept all before them to win the Champions League as part of a historic Treble. A moment which now feels like a lifetime ago. What Erling Haaland makes of it all is anyones guess. Hes just committed the next decade of his career to the club.

Citys response to a crisis which wont stop, has been to spend more money. Around 150m on three new players, to add some fresh legs and minds to a squad appearing to age by the week.

But even this will come too late to save a season which looks destined to finish without City winning a single trophy. And the burning question remains - will Guardiola have the stomach to continue when the next campaign comes around?

Guardiolas mind must be scrambled. On top of his teams almighty fall from grace, he is also going through a divorce. Rarely has he looked so lost, confused and helpless.

Arguably the greatest manager of all time, reduced to something less than even a mere mortal. He will feel humbled and humiliated in equal measure.

Because evidence suggests his stars no longer buy into what hes selling. A group of players who have become bored of Guardiolas methods and occasional madness.

[Pep Guardiola is feeling the pressure]

Pep Guardiola is feeling the pressure(Image: UEFA via Getty Images)

Where is the motivation for Kevin De Bruyne & Co, when there is little left to achieve? The simple answer is that there isnt any. Club captain Kyle Walker is living proof of this, having jumped ship mid-season to join AC Milan on loan.

How low City could still sink is hard to imagine. But Walker isnt prepared to hang around to find out. Hes surrendered when the going got tough.

But the most damning fact of all staring Guardiola and his bosses in the face, is that Walker isnt alone in waving the white flag.

[Jeremy Cross]

Jeremy Cross

Jeremy joined the Daily Star in 2010 as Manchester football correspondent and for more than a decade has served as our Chief Sports Writer. He provides expert coverage on Manchester United and Manchester City, the Premier League as a whole, and the England football team. Jeremy has covered football, rugby and cricket World Cups, as well as Wimbledon, the golf majors and the Olympics.

[Dailystar Icon]

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Choose Daily Star as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value.