Rodri dances, Guardiola looks after Summerbee: the moments you missed at Man City's farewell party

Manchester City’s farewell celebration for Pep Guardiola spilled from the streets of the city centre into Co-Op Live arena on Bank Holiday Monday, with nearly 20,000 fans packing the venue to mark the end of a ten-year reign that produced twenty trophies.

The evening featured the men’s team, women’s team, and Under-18s parading through Manchester before the indoor finale, and with so much happening across the stage and crowd, several moments passed by largely unnoticed.

Rodri revels

If one player embodied the spirit of the night, it was Rodri. The Spain midfielder danced to his own chant on top of the bus and was later seen celebrating with teammates while carrying the 2023 Champions League trophy — the competition in which his final goal secured the title. His future at the club remains unresolved heading into the summer, with the player recently indicating the World Cup was his immediate priority, but his demeanour throughout the evening suggested a player thoroughly at ease within this squad.

Guardiola’s quiet gesture

For much of the night, the focus was on Guardiola himself, but the outgoing manager repeatedly deflected attention elsewhere. As he was being ushered toward centre stage, he paused to help club legend Mike Summerbee navigate the arena stairs — a small moment that spoke to a relationship Guardiola has previously described as central to his understanding of the club. He said last week that regular meals with Summerbee helped ground him in the feel of Manchester, and the instinct to look after him when the spotlight was pointing the other way was consistent with that bond.

The tone of the evening differed markedly from Guardiola’s arrival a decade ago, when the reception carried an almost reverential quality. On Monday, supporters leaned into affectionate mockery — replaying famous clips of his touchline eccentricities and breaking into song — and Guardiola appeared far more comfortable for it. The connection built over ten years made the informality feel earned rather than disrespectful.

A night of details

The scale of the celebration meant individual moments were easy to miss for those inside the arena and those following along remotely. Between the trophy lifts, the interviews, and the crowd of thousands who had tracked the buses through the city centre, the evening served as a genuine send-off rather than a formal ceremony — and the atmosphere reflected that distinction throughout.