Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has dismissed the notion that the 2024-25 season was a disaster for his side and claimed the third-place finish he got is better than his previous title win. City fell off the pace this season in the title race and almost missed out on Champions League football before getting their act together and making it to the competition.

This was Guardiola’s second trophyless season of his career, but said it wasn’t a disaster for his side. Speaking to Reuters, the City boss said that he wants to suffer when he isn’t winning and feels that everyone is in the world to feel different experiences.

“I want to suffer when I’m not winning games,” Guardiola told Reuters in an exclusive interview. “I want to feel bad. I want to sleep badly. I want that when the situation goes bad, it affects me… I want that!”

“I’m angry… my food, it tastes worse… I don’t need to eat much because I need to feel that (anger). Because if it doesn’t, what sense would it have? Winning or losing… We’re here in this world to feel different experiences, different moods.”

Guardiola went on to say that the 2024-25 season was the most valuable one for him as he was able to learn a lot.

“You judge happiness if you win. You judge success if you win and win. And that is a problem,” he said.

“I will not judge myself or my team because of bad seasons or good seasons… Maybe finishing third in a season and never giving up otherwise you finish 10th or 12th, maybe that’s a better season than when we won the fourth Premier League in a row.

“We faced so many difficulties that were higher due to injuries, relaxation, I was not good enough… for many reasons. Maybe the analysis about my period is that the last season was better. Qualifying for the Champions League when we were on the verge of not getting it.”

‘Winners are boring’

Reflecting on his setbacks, Guardiola quoted former Uruguayan President Jose Mujica and said that success is all about how many times you stand up after falling down.

“Success is how many times you stand up when you fall down.” He added: “Fall down, stand up. Fall down, stand up… That is the biggest success.”

“Winners are boring,” he said, adding that he always looked forward to post-match interviews with players and coaches from losing sides. “It’s nice to see the losers. That is when you really learn.”

City and Guardiola will be aiming to mount a stronger challenge next season.

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