PEP GUARDIOLA is expected to move out of his £8.5MILLION family home after he and his wife reportedly split.
The Manchester City boss, who has three grown-up children with his fashion boss wife Cristina Serra, has always stayed at the family home when back in the Catalan capital.
The luxury property in Barcelona’s most-elite neighbourhood was once owned by Nou Camp legend Rafa Marquez.
Guardiola, 53, bought the pad for £8.5m through a company he ran with his wife from a Russian businessman in February 2021.
The four-storey house, near to a six-mile stretch of dirt tracks on the outskirts of Barcelona called Carretera de les Aigues, has a large swimming pool in its grounds.
It occupies a plot of more than 22,000 square feet and the house itself is an impressive 8,000 square feet.
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Catalan press seized on the house purchase, which was made public in June 2021, as a sign Guardiola could be planning a return to Barcelona following Joan Laporta’s election as its president.
Cristina moved into the property two years after leaving Manchester to return to her home city.
However, it is now being reported that Guardiola will move out of the property following his split from Cristina.
Respected Spanish news outlet El Confidencial described the mansion today as “the perfect place for a separation without anyone discovering when you leave or enter”.
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Guardiola is expected to continue to live in a luxury £2.7m pad in Salford.
Although the outlet insisted the couple had spent Christmas together at the property with their three children Maria, 24, Marius, 22, and 17-year-old Valentina.
It added: “It’s the mansion that marked the physical distancing of Guardiola and his wife in 2021.”
Barcelona-based newspaper Sport report that Guardiola and Cristina decided to end their relationship in December while both in Spain.
Their relationship is still “cordial, stable and friendly” despite taking the decision to part ways.
Lorena Vazquez, the journalist who broke the shock news, has revealed Pep and Cristina have not split because of a third person.
Vazquez, who forms part of a highly-respected duo of reporters known in Spain as the Mamarazzis, said overnight: “It’s been a carefully-considered decision the couple discussed over several months.
“They continue to have a cordial and affectionate relationship.
“No one else is involved. There are no third parties. We are going to carry on seeing them together.”
After revealing the couple’s shock split, she added: “They weren’t expecting any journalists or media outlets would confirm this break-up but I can assure you they’re living apart and only a small handful of people knew about this.”
The report claims they have been living apart for nearly five years after Cristina moved back to Barcelona to run her fashion company.
But she has been switching between Spain and London – still spending time with Guardiola.
City declined to comment when approached over reports of the split.
Guardiola is believed to have met Cristina in her family’s clothes store called Serra Claret when he was just 18.
He was modelling for designer Antonio Miro in Serra’s shop when he first met Cristina.
And even as recently as January 2024, the former midfielder revealed Cristina helps pick out his matchday outfits.
Serra Claret stock many brands he has worn on the touchline, such as Dsquared2, CP Company and Armani.
Despite meeting as teens, they waited a long time to get married.
They tied the knot in 2014 in an intimate ceremony in Spain – a private service just for close family in Catalonia.
Eldest daughter Maria, 24, is a model who has over 900,000 followers on Instagram.
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Son Marius, 22, currently resides in Dubai and runs three companies – one of them dedicated to advertising and marketing.
And youngest Valentina, 17, is focused on studies.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
