91,062 attended the fixture at Barcelona’s iconic home stadium, with thousands more watching at home via CITY+ and our official Recast channel.
All proceeds from the game will go towards ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) research at Luzón Foundation in support of former Barcelona goalkeeper and coach Juan Carlos Unzué, who was diagnosed with the incurable degenerative neurological condition in 2020.
Cole Palmer | I’ve got to prove myself
The game itself was an entertaining affair, ending in a 3-3 draw thanks to a late Riyad Mahrez penalty.
Julian Alvarez and Cole Palmer had grabbed the earlier goals for City, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Frenkie de Jong and Memphis Depay scoring for the hosts.
Speaking in a post-match press conference alongside Mr Unzue and Barcelona manager Xavi, Guardiola was grateful to all involved on the day.
“It has been a great honour being here. It’s been a successful day,” he said.
“Thanks to all the people who came because they contributed to the cause. The artist here is Unzué, who made this possible, because of his stubbornness and all his people pushing and pushing to do it.
“It’s been a beautiful summer night, the stadium was full, and it was a fun game, six goals, chances for both sides. Congratulations”.
The manager was also asked about the future of Bernardo Silva, who played 65 minutes in a central midfield role.
Guardiola echoed his previous sentiments on the Portuguese playmaker, insisting that he would love to see the 28-year-old remain with the Club.
He said: “Bernardo is our player, we want to have him with us, because he’s very important, we want him to stay. But since I started managing at Barcelona I never wanted a player who didn’t want to stay in my team.
“He’s a superlative player in everything, every aspect. First of all as a human being, he’s a loving and good guy, one of the best I’ve ever had and as a player better as one of the biggest is the game.”
