Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe sparked outrage this week with controversial comments about immigration, which Manchester City manager Josep Guardiola also responded to.
Manager Josep Guardiola speaks out about Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s comments (Image: Getty Images)
Manchester City manager Josep Guardiola has responded to Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s comments by saying the treatment of immigrants is a “huge problem”.
Manchester United’s co-owner sparked outrage earlier this week when he claimed Britain was being “colonized by immigrants”. The 73-year-old later attempted to apologize following criticism from Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham.
This time, City manager Guardiola expressed his opinion. Speaking at a press conference ahead of the FA Cup game against Salford City, the Spanish manager said: “I have a huge debt of gratitude to Sir Jim. I was lucky to have met him. He issued a statement after apologizing.”
“I’m not going to comment on what Sir Jim Ratcliffe said, because then he said exactly what he meant. But the problem we have in every country around the world is that we treat immigrants and people from other countries as a problem that our country has, and that’s a big, big, big, big, big problem.”
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She added: “What impact did the fact that I’m Catalan and you are British have on where we were born? That’s mom and dad.
“Everyone wants to have a perspective on having a better life and a better future for themselves, their families, and their friends. And sometimes opportunities come where you were born and where you might go.
“It used to be very difficult to travel, but now you can go anywhere within an hour. Now it doesn’t matter what color your skin is or where you were born. We have a lot of work to do in that regard.”
Mr Ratcliffe has faced serious criticism for his comments (Image: Getty Images)
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“I don’t feel better than you just because I’m Catalan. The education I had when I was born and traveled in Mexico and Qatar and lived in Italy, England and Germany, it’s just a benefit of my personality.”
“I’ve met some incredibly kind people on my travels, and that’s what traveling is all about. But the fact that you were born in one place or the other doesn’t make you feel better. Most people flee their countries because of their own problems, not because they want to leave. As long as we embrace other cultures, if we really, really embrace them, society will be better.”
Mr Ratcliffe could face serious consequences for his comments. The FA have not yet launched a formal investigation, but there are suggestions that he may have brought the game into disrepute, and they are conducting a detailed investigation.
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