Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola delivered an impassioned and emotional address on the devastating war in Gaza, as he accepted an honorary doctorate from the University of Manchester on Monday.

The renowned coach, known globally for his leadership in football, used the prestigious academic platform to condemn the horrors unfolding in the besieged Palestinian enclave.

“It’s so painful what we see in Gaza. It hurts my whole body,” Guardiola said, visibly moved, as he addressed the audience in a speech that has since gone viral on social media.

Rejecting any political labels or ideological narratives, Guardiola centered his speech on human dignity and the sanctity of life: “Let me be clear, it’s not about ideology. It’s not about whether I’m right or you’re wrong. It’s just about the love of life, about the care of your neighbour.”

Guardiola, 54, issued a stark warning against indifference, pointing out that the mass killing of Palestinian children in Gaza should alarm the entire world.

“Maybe we think that we see the boys and girls of four years old being killed by the bomb, or being killed at the hospital because it’s not a hospital anymore... and we think, ‘It’s not our business.’ But be careful,” he warned.

“The next one will be ours. The next four- or five-year-old kids will be ours.”

Choking up as he referenced his own children — Maria, Marius, and Valentina — Guardiola described how he is haunted every morning by images of Palestinian infants being pulled from rubble, dying in makeshift shelters, or left starving due to the brutal Israeli siege.

“Sorry,” he said, “but I see my kids. When I see every morning since the nightmare started the infants in Gaza... I’m so scared.”

Guardiola’s heartfelt plea stands in stark contrast to the silence of many public figures in the West, particularly in the world of sport, where statements on Gaza have often been met with censorship or professional backlash. His remarks follow growing global outrage over Israel’s relentless bombardment of the Gaza Strip, where over 54,900 Palestinians — the overwhelming majority of them women and children — have been killed since October 2023, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

While Israel claims it is targeting militants, it has failed to provide credible evidence for the vast majority of those it alleges were fighters. Entire neighborhoods have been turned to rubble, and over 90% of Gaza’s population is now displaced. Hospitals, schools, and even UN shelters have not been spared from airstrikes.

Guardiola’s powerful speech is being hailed by Palestinian rights groups and humanitarian organizations as a courageous stand for justice and humanity.

“Pep Guardiola has shown the world what leadership with conscience looks like,” said a spokesperson from the UK-based Friends of Al-Aqsa. “At a time when Western leaders and media turn their backs on Palestinian suffering, voices like his remind us that silence is not neutrality — it is complicity.”

As global calls for an immediate ceasefire, accountability for war crimes, and an end to the Israeli occupation grow louder, Guardiola’s voice joins a growing chorus of prominent figures demanding the world no longer look away. (ILKHA)