Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola delivered a three-minute speech in support of the people of Palestine at a charity concert in Barcelona on Thursday night.

Guardiola spoke at the Act x Palestine event at the Palau Sant Jordi, a day after Manchester City recorded a 2–0 Champions League victory over Galatasaray.

The event marked the culmination of the Act x Palestine mobilisation campaign promoted by Palestinian human rights organisations and a network of European entities.

Wearing a black and white keffiyeh, a symbol of Palestinian identity, Guardiola addressed the crowd at the start of the concert.

“Good evening, salam alaikum, how wonderful,” Guardiola said.

He continued: “Let me say two things. I think what we think when I see a child in these past two years with these images on social media, on television, recording himself, pleading, ‘Where is my mother?’ among the rubble and he still doesn’t know it.

“And I always think, ‘What must they be thinking’? And I think we have left them alone, abandoned. I always imagine them saying ‘Where are you? Come help us’. And even now, we haven’t done it.”

Guardiola criticised those in positions of power during his speech.

“Perhaps because those in power are cowards, because they basically send innocent young people to kill innocent people. That is what cowards do. Because they are in their homes, with heating when it’s cold and air conditioning when it’s hot,” he said.

He urged those present to take action.

“We must take a step forward. Simply being present alone means so much – so very, very much. What bombs cause – and what they want to cause – is silence, and for us to look the other way. That is their only goal: that we do not take a step forward.

“And this is what we must resist. We must simply not look the other way; we must get involved and participate. We stand before the world to show that, naturally, we are on the side of the weaker – who in this case is Palestine. But not Palestine alone; all causes. This is a statement for Palestine, and it is a statement for humanity,” Guardiola said.

Guardiola received a standing ovation from the audience.

His appearance came on the same day that the Israeli military reportedly accepted, for the first time, that more than 70,000 Palestinians had been killed during the war.

It was not the first time Guardiola has taken a public political stance.

In 2018, he was fined £20,000 by the Football Association for wearing a yellow ribbon in support of jailed Catalan independence leaders, The Mirror reported on Saturday.

In June 2025, speaking as he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Manchester, Guardiola said the war in Gaza “hurts my whole body” as he delivered an emotional speech.

In a separate account by Catalan News reported that the concert featured a wide-ranging line-up, with around 30 performers appearing on stage at the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona. Artists such as Rosalía, Bad Gyal and Amaia were among those who prompted loud reactions from the crowd.

The programme brought together musicians from across different genres and generations, including Morad, Oques Grasses, Mushka, Lluís Llach, Fermín Muguruza and Yerai Cortés. The event also included international acts, with Mali’s Tinariwen and French singer Zaho de Sagazan travelling to Barcelona to take part.

Palestinian artists were also prominently represented at the concert, with performances by Zeyne and Lina Makoul.

Following the event, Guardiola returned to Manchester to prepare for City’s Premier League match away to Tottenham on Sunday. Manchester City are currently four points behind Arsenal in the league and have secured direct qualification to the Champions League last 16, where their potential opponents include Benfica, Bodo/Glimt, Inter Milan or Real Madrid.