Manchester City manager Guardiola donates €1m to help fight coronavirus in Barcelona
Pep Guardiola has donated €1million (£900,000) in the fight against coronavirus in Barcelona.
The Manchester City manager has earmarked the money, sent to the Angel Soler Daniel Foundation, to be spent on purchasing medical equipment.
The fund is named after a doctor from Santpedor – the town Guardiola hails from – who passed away in the 1970s.
Pep Guardiola has donated €1million in the fight against coronavirus in Barcelona
Guardiola made the pledge on Tuesday following an appeal over the weekend.
The foundation had raised just over €33,000 after the initial plea and Guardiola’s personal contribution has rocketed their resources.
Spain is on a nationwide lockdown, declaring a state of emergency on Saturday – two days before the United Kingdom announced stricter guidelines.
Barcelona is in lockdown as the death toll in Spain jumped by 514 in a single day on Tuesday
Man City manager Guardiola represented Barcelona for most of his playing career
The coronavirus death toll in Spain jumped by 514 in a single day, as the situation in the country quickly worsens.
Official figures on Tuesday show that 2,696 people have now died in the country and close to 40,000 are infected
The Barcelona medical college said that equipment is in short supply across Catalonia and Guardiola’s generosity will go a long way to easing the strain on health centres. Catalonia is reported to have the most concentrated number of cases in Spain.
Guardiola pictured at a rally in support of a referendum for independence in 2017
The former Barca boss last year presented the Catalan parliament’s Medals of Honour
A proud Catalonian, Guardiola has been fined by the FA in the past for ‘wearing a political message’. The yellow ribbon he displayed was in support of jailed activists who campaigned for independence.
He has also been pictured attending rallies for independence and has presented the Catalan parliament’s Medals of Honour at a ceremony.
Guardiola is understood to have been working on ways of sending the finances since hearing of the coronavirus appeal.
