Pep Guardiola has received a heartfelt message from his ‘close friend’ the Ex-FHM model Natalie Pike as she shared her love for the departing Manchester City manager
An ex-FHM model has penned a heartfelt farewell message to “close friend” Pep Guardiola and told him: “I love you.” Broadcaster Natalie Pike led Pep’s final interview at the Etihad pitch on May 24.
The day after the pair were caught at Pep’s leaving-do at the Co-op Live arena. Natalie, 43, has had an extensive career working with BBC Radio Five, talkSPORT, DAZN and Race Day TV.
In a message on Instagram, Natalie said: “Love you Pep… But me and fantasy football are forever.” A source at the club told the Sun: “Natalie was doing all the presenting and does a lot of the interviews with the players and manager. They became friends.”
Only a week ago Natalie posted a short video of her spinning on the City crest. The video was captioned: “How life feels when you’ve spent ten years with the greatest manager of all time!”
Days after the news broke concerning Pep’s departure Natalie said to co-host Chris Sutton on Radio 5 Live: “Oh Chris, I don’t know how I’m not gonna cry about Pep.”
During a chat about the reasons why Pep had decided to depart from City Natalie revealed Pep had sent her an personal explanation. She said: “Yeah Chris, he said to my face. He’s going now because he believes it’s time. I think the phrase he used to me was, ‘It’s time to open the windows and let some air in now around the club’.
“I really do not believe the people that are looking for conspiracy theories here or who indeed think he’s running away. It’s ten years, ten incredible years, and it’s just his time.”
Natalie has stated her end-of-season interview with the legend would be the “biggest moment in my career”. The media star added he has a “great sense of humour” and is a Coldplay fan. Natalie, from Cheshire, was named FHM’s High Street Honey in 2004.
The ex-model split from her husband during the pandemic and has pulled back the lid on how the heartbreak affected her.
Speaking to Brood magazine Natalie said: “I’d never experienced loneliness or sadness like it. I think, for anyone going through a divorce, you would surround yourself with friends and family — go out and get drunk, and do things to take your mind off it.
“But I couldn’t do any of that because it was in the middle of lockdown. I was at rock bottom – genuinely, like real, real rock bottom.”
Pep is currently in the process of finalising his divorce from Cristina Serra, his wife of over 30 years. Pep and Natalie have been snapped numerous times with each other across social media.