By TAMARA PRENN, SENIOR SPORTS REPORTER
Published: 09:21 EST, 10 December 2025 | Updated: 09:21 EST, 10 December 2025
Pep Guardiola had an unusual piece of advice for his counterpart in the dugout on Tuesday as Manchester City prepare to face off with Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday evening.
The heavily decorated manager will go toe-to-toe with Xabi Alonso, who he previously managed at Bayern Munich, where the Spaniard ended his playing career.
Guardiola has been seen as a mentor to Alonso, who achieved staggering success in his first managerial role at Bayer Leverkusen when he steered the side to an unbeaten Bundesliga title in 2023-24.
The former Real Madrid player joined his old club as head coach this summer, but has struggled since arriving in the Spanish capital amid speculation over a seismic rift in his dressing room.
Stars including Vinicius Jnr and Fede Valverde are thought to have taken against the manager's training methods and tactical plans, while the side are weathering a tricky run of results that has seen them slip from the top of the LaLiga table to four points off rivals Barcelona.
But when asked if he wanted to give Alonso any personal counsel for the torrid time he is enduring, Guardiola offered only a cryptic response.
Pep Guardiola had a cryptic piece of advice for his opposite number at Real Madrid on Tuesday
Xabi Alonso is weathering a storm at the Bernabeu as he deals with a rocky spell of form
'To pee with his own one,' the Catalan manager said. 'To pee with his own one.
'He doesn't pee perfume so he'll probably do fine, you'll see.
'There's your headline, right?' He added, teasing the assorted journalists in the press conference.
A Spanish idiom, to 'pee perfume' suggests one who is arrogant or thinks too highly of themselves, suggesting that the Man City boss was urging Alonso to walk his own path - which he would probably succeed in doing.
The idiom was a popular one in the Madrid press during Jose Mourinho's era at the club, with the then-manager often being accused of 'peeing perfume' for his supposed high opinion of his methods.
Guardiola also offered commentary on the unravelling situation behind the scenes at the Bernabeu.
'I'm not in the dressing room of Real Madrid, so I don't know the situation,' Guardiola admitted. 'But it depends.
'The hierarchy, ultimately, is power. If the hierarchy want to give power to the manager, the manager will have the power. If they want to give it to the players, the players will have the power.'
Guardiola's comment was in frequent usage during his seasons sparring with Jose Mourinho
Real Madrid's uneven season went from bad to worse after they lost 2-0 to Celta Vigo in a clash which saw Jude Bellingham bloodied
Fran Garcia (centre) was among three players who received a red card on a torrid evening
'These games are difficult but he knows it, he's been here, he knows this reality. This is about winning games.
'I know they have a lot of absences, I know what happens when you want to build something and many players are injured.
'It happened to ourselves last season. But of course he's capable of doing it.'
Real Madrid will be keen to get back to winning ways at home on Wednesday after a shock 2-0 defeat to Celta Vigo over the weekend in domestic action.
Three Real Madrid players - Fran Garcia, Alvaro Carreras, and bench-bound Endrick - were given red cards during the calamitous loss and Jude Bellingham was left bloodied after being tagged by a stray elbow.
'It was difficult for us to react, we almost reacted when we were down 1-0,' Alonso said at full-time, compelling his players to take responsibility for the defeat.
'It’s three points, it hurts, we’re angry, and now we have to show another side on Wednesday.
'We all take the blame, in the good moments and in the not so good ones. We have to take it responsibly. We don’t have to look too long term. The situation is tight because of injuries. We have to change things, we’ll see.'