Pep Guardiola takes shot at Florentino Perez following Real Madrid-Manchester City draw

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola continued his tetchy relations with the media in the Spanish capital after their draw with Real Madrid on Tuesday night. There was much talk of the roof at the Santiago Bernabeu being closed in order to keep the noise in, but Guardiola thought that there were other imrovements Real Madrid President Florentino Perez could have made.

Before the game, Guardiola was asked whether his players would try to provoke Vinicius Junior into a yellow card that would mean his suspension for the return leg, a suggestion he was not too impressed with.

After the game, Guardiola was again asked about the roof, but suggested that the pitch was not up to standard.

“I like to see the sky, honestly. But it is true that it is impressive. Now they just have to take care of the grass, they just have to improve that. Florentino only has to worry about having a good pitch next, as Madrid had always had, like a carpet.”

What did you think of the roof?

"Honestly I like to see the sky. But no doubt it's impressive. Now they just have to take care of the grass, that's the only thing to improve."

"The only thing Florentino has to worry about next having a good pitch."pic.twitter.com/z6rD7I7ixk

— Football España (@footballespana_) April 10, 2024

Meanwhile Rodri Hernandez also told Diario AS that he felt the pitch was in poor condition, saying it hurt Manchester City a little, but noted that it was no excuse. Meanwhile Relevo report that the Real Madrid squad were also frustrated at the quality of the pitch. It’s a problem that has been chronic at the Bernabeu, which has not been aided by the dust and the dirt created by the renovation work around the stadium.

Certainly during his time as Barcelona manager it became standard suspicion while Jose Mourinho was in charge of Los Blancos that Real Madrid let the grass grow longer and gave it less water, making the ball roll slower. This was a source of regular irritation for both Guardiola and Xavi Hernandez, with the former clearly feeling the grass was not up to standard again on Tuesday.