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Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola was spotted on stage as Noel Gallagher performed during the Teenage Cancer Trust show at the Royal Albert Hall on Thursday night.

Gallagher has made no secret of the fact that he is a City super-fan following his rise to fame with Oasis in the 1990s, before forming another band, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, in 2011. 

He has also taken a particular shine to Guardiola since the Spaniard’s arrival at the Etihad Stadium in 2016, and some may have briefly thought he had convinced the 53-year-old manager to join him on stage on Thursday after he was pictured behind Gallagher.

But it was not the real Guardiola, as Gallagher instead plumped for a cardboard cutout.

And this has been happening for a while now, with Gallagher explaining the thinking behind keeping Guardiola by his side at his gigs back in 2021.

Pep Guardiola was spotted behind Noel Gallagher at a charity gig on Thursday night

Pep Guardiola was spotted behind Noel Gallagher at a charity gig on Thursday night

However, it was not the real Guardiola but a cutout figure of the Man City boss instead

However, it was not the real Guardiola but a cutout figure of the Man City boss instead

Gallagher (left) poses for a picture next to the Guardiola cutout, and he has revealed he has multiple cutouts of the City manager

Gallagher (left) poses for a picture next to the Guardiola cutout, and he has revealed he has multiple cutouts of the City manager

‘I’ve got one cutout in the studio overseeing the tactical analysis of the songs, I’ve got one in the kitchen at home just to freak people out when they come in,’ Gallagher told NME.

‘He’s an idol for me, actually. And a great man.’

Eagle-eyed fans will have also noticed the cutout at Gallagher’s previous concerts, as he was there when the former Oasis songwriter played at Bingley Festival in Bradford last summer.

It may seem a bit of an odd choice to some for Gallagher to have a cutout of Guardiola, but the former has assured fans that the pair have actually become close friends over the years and text each other on a weekly basis. 

City finished 15 points adrift of champions Chelsea in Guardiola’s first season at the club, and Gallagher previously revealed that he messaged Guardiola just before his second campaign at City got underway to ask if he expected an improvement.

He received an emphatic response.

‘He text me back, “We’re gonna win the league. Trust me, we’re gonna win, I’ve seen it in training”. And we won by 17 points,’ Gallagher said during an appearance on the Life Goals podcast.

Guardiola was equally confident in the 2020-21 season, despite his team making a slow start to the campaign.

Gallagher continued: ‘When we were 12th or something, Liverpool were so strong, we had the pandemic, we’d been beaten by Tottenham and then drew against West Brom. 

‘Me and Pep always text on a Monday, he went, “What do you reckon?” I was like, “Well, we’ve got the FA Cup and things like that.” He goes, “It’s only November. I am a thousand percent sure that when it comes down to it we’re going to be there at the end.”

Gallagher and Guardiola have become close friends, and text each other on a weekly basis

Gallagher and Guardiola have become close friends, and text each other on a weekly basis

‘I was like, “Good for you because no one else does”. And bit by bit we clawed it back and then we were so far ahead it was unbelievable.’

City have a history of coming from behind in title races under Guardiola, and will have to do the same again this season as they currently trail Arsenal and Liverpool by a point.

They will host the Gunners in a huge clash at the Etihad later this month, and the result of that game could go some way to deciding the title.

Guardiola will have Gallagher’s full support for the final run-in, just as the musician can count on the City boss to have his back at his gigs. Sort of!

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This post first appeared on Daily mail

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