Alonso played under Pep at Bayern Munich for about two and a half years, from 2014 to 2016. Before the Champions League match against Real Madrid, the Catalan coach faced many questions about his former player's future. Alonso is under pressure, and Spanish media suggests his position could be decided after the Manchester City match in the sixth round of the Champions League this week.

When asked if he had any advice for his counterpart across the pitch, the 54-year-old coach gave a cryptic answer: "Let him urinate with his own member. And since he cannot urinate perfume, he will be fine. Just wait and see."

Guardiola (right) and Alonso during their time together at Bayern Munich.

Guardiola's original response was: "Que mee con la suya. Y como no meara colonia, le ira bien. Ya veras". This is a Spanish idiomatic phrase. "Que mee con la suya" implies, "Let him take care of his own business," while "no meara colonia" is understood as, "He is only human, not divine, so things won't be perfect or easy." These two phrases often go together as a phrase.

Behind Guardiola's answer is also a way for him to recall his past, during his time coaching Barcelona. During a period of extreme tension in El Clasico when Jose Mourinho was Real Madrid's head coach, Madrid fans and media at the time labeled Guardiola with the phrase "el mea colonias" (the one who urinates perfume), implying he was arrogant.

Therefore, Guardiola used his own past experience, self-deprecatingly, to mock the current Madrid media in return. At the same time, it was a message to his former player Alonso.

According to Spanish media, the entirety of Guardiola's message can be understood as follows: "Alonso should do things his way, continue to be firm. And since he cannot create miracles – as the Madrid media once said about me – he will be fine. Just wait and see."

Besides the message to Alonso, the Manchester City manager also expressed empathy, relating it to the previous season, when his team won nothing and at times experienced a terrible slump.

"I have empathy for Alonso's situation, because we worked together for over two years and it was a memorable experience," Guardiola said. "Barcelona and Real Madrid are the most demanding clubs for coaches, due to the pressure and the working environment. If I had achieved results like last season here, I would certainly have been fired 6 months before the end of the season. But Alonso understands the situation and he will be able to overcome it."

Madrid media reports that Real's dressing room is experiencing serious rifts, with some players unhappy with Alonso's management style, especially the incident where he substituted Vinicius in the El Clasico match.

"I am not in Real's dressing room so I don't know the situation," Guardiola replied when asked about the issue of player power. "But it depends; here it is about the club's leaders deciding who to grant power to, the head coach or the players. Anywhere, winning is always a requirement, but in England, the media does not know the internal affairs of the teams. However, in Barcelona and Real Madrid, they know exactly what goes on in the dressing room."

After 5 matches in the Champions League group stage, Real Madrid has 4 wins and one loss, accumulating 12 points with a wide open opportunity to advance. Manchester City currently has 10 points from three wins, one draw, and one loss.

Hoang Thong