Pep Guardiola openly professes love for Barcelona after winning The Best Men’s Coach Award

• Pep Guardiola made a passionate speech after winning an award on Monday
• The Manchester City boss was feted with FIFA’s The Best Award for coach of the year
• In his remarks, he acknowledged Barcelona as ‘the club of his heart’

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola showed his undying love for Barcelona through his speech after he won The Best FIFA Men's Coach Award for 2023.

Guardiola was an overwhelming favourite to clinch the award after a stellar 2023 with Manchester City where they famously won the treble. He topped the finals with 28 points.

The 52-year-old faced competition from Inter boss Simone Inzaghi (11 points) and former Napoli tactician Luciano Spalletti (18 points), who were also finalists.

His win made him the first Spaniard to be named The Best FIFA Men's Coach, placing second in 2019 and third in 2021 and 2022.

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While the treble was an incredible feat for Guardiola, it was not the first time he achieved such success.

In 2009, Guardiola won the treble with one of the most potent Barcelona squads in history, and in his acceptance speech on Monday, January 15, he let the world know how much the Catalan club meant to him.

It was at Barcelona where Guardiola began his managerial career, and he attributed his current success at Man City to the experience he gained in Spain.

“Barça is the club of my heart. Barcelona is the reason why I am standing here; Barcelona is part of my life," Guardiola said, as cited on the Manchester City website.

Messi wins The Best Player award

Elsewhere, Inter Miami superstar Lionel Messi beat Erling Haaland once again as he won The Best Award in the London ceremony.

Messi’s latest feat came only months after he won his eighth Ballon d’Or. This was his third time winning the award, and he became the first player to win it while playing in the Major League Soccer.

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According to ESPN, the timeline for the award was from Dec. 19, 2022 -- the day after Messi led Argentina to win the World Cup in Qatar -- and Aug. 20, 2023

Thierry Henry digs at Tottenham

In other news Thierry Henry aimed a hilarious dig at Tottenham Hotspur during the FIFPRO Awards.

As reported by Sports Brief, Since Messi was not available to collect his award, Henry offered to claim it on the Argentine’s behalf and aimed a dig at his co-host Reshmin Chowdhury at the same time.