Football legend Pep Guardiola once again voiced his support for Palestinian children in Gaza at a concert in Barcelona on Thursday evening.
The Manchester City manager addressed the gathering at the Palau Sant Jordi sporting arena in his birth city, Barcelona, during the ‘Act X Palestine’ benefit concert.
The Catalan coach, known for his outspoken stance on human rights, took to the stage before a crowd. Draped in a traditional black and white, Guardiola began his address with Good Evening, followed by the traditional Islamic greeting ‘‘Assalamualaikum’’, meaning ‘peace be upon you’.
Guardiola spoke in support of children who had lost their parents during the war and referred to images of children in Gaza that have dominated social media over the past two years, according to a report in the Telegraph.
‘’I think we have left them alone, abandoned’’.
“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”, he said in the speech.
Guardiola called for an end to “decades of oppression” and condemned the silence of global leaders in the speech, international media reported.
“I think we have left them alone, abandoned. I always think they must say, ‘Where are you? Come help us. ”And until now, even now, we have not done so”.
“The powerful are cowards because they send innocent people to kill innocent people… while they are at home with heating when it’s cold and air conditioning when it’s hot”, he said.
“All of this is simply about humanity”, he said to a standing ovation after his three-minute speech.
The “Act X Palestine” event, organised by a coalition of human rights groups and Catalan cultural organisations, was designed to raise funds for humanitarian aid and cultural reconstruction in Palestine.
Guardiola has been a vocal voice on Gaza and Palestine. In October 2025, he called on people to ‘pressure governments to take immediate action’ regarding the conflict in Gaza. He had voiced his support for a pro-Gazan demonstration in the streets of his birth city, Barcelona, scheduled on 4 October.
In June 2025, after receiving an honorary doctorate from the University of Manchester, he said, “It’s so painful what we see in Gaza. It hurts my whole body.
