Sir Alex Ferguson’s Premier League Manager of the Month Record Stunned Pep Guardiola

Pep Guardiola was left stunned after discovering how many Premier League Manager of the Month awards Sir Alex Ferguson won during his extraordinary spell as Manchester United boss.

Ferguson is widely considered to be the greatest manager of the Premier League era, though it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that he’ll eventually face stiff competition for that particular title from Guardiola. The Catalan native has been near perfect since arriving at the Etihad Stadium, guiding the Citizens to six Premier League triumphs and emulating Sir Alex by winning a famous treble in 2023.

While the 55-year-old is currently enduring one of his toughest spells in charge of City – having failed to win a major honour last season (which is the first time since 2016/17) – his period of success has seen him recognised with numerous awards, including several Premier League Manager of the Month awards.

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Guardiola’s Manager of the Month Record

The former Barcelona manager hasn’t won the award since 2021

Strangely, Guardiola hasn’t won the Premier League’s Manager of the Month award (at the time of writing) since December 2021. This means that, throughout his treble-winning campaign, the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach was not recognised as the best manager once.

Arsenal head honcho Mikel Arteta has won the individual accolade on six occasions since Guardiola was last named Manager of the Month, while Manchester United’s former boss Erik ten Hag has also picked up the award twice. Ange Postecoglou has won it three times, those coming in consecutive months at the start of his reign as Tottenham manager. Even Mike Jackson, who was the temporary manager of Burnley in 2022, has scooped the award.

It means that Guardiola has been stuck on 11 awards for more than four years. However, the revolutionary coach has still won the award more than all but two managers in history – and no prizes for guessing who they are.

Arsene Wenger won it 15 times during his 22-year reign as Arsenal manager between 1996-2018, but it was Ferguson’s tally which left Guardiola gobsmacked. Pep suggested that it wouldn’t be long before he was challenging Wenger and Fergie, only to learn the latter was streets clear of everyone else.

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Guardiola shocked by Sir Alex Ferguson’s record

Guardiola remains far behind the legendary Scot

After being told about Ferguson’s record in January 2022, Guardiola conceded that even he stood no chance of matching it. A reporter asked the Man City boss: “You’ve won 11 now, Pep – only Wenger and Ferguson have won more than you. So, is that something for you to be proud of?”

The City boss replied with a wry smile: “Be careful, Sir Alex, Arsene… I’m coming…”. The reporter then said: “[Ferguson] won 27, Pep, so not too many…”. Guardiola was taken aback my the sheer number that Ferguson had to his name and quickly retracted his statment in a hilarious moment.

“How many?!” he said. “Oh my god! Okay… it belongs to him! I will not chase him for sure.” Watch the clip below:

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Guardiola Tops Premier League Points-Per-Game Chart

The Catalan has the edge over Ferguson in this competition

While the vast majority of football fans would argue that Ferguson is still the greatest manager in Premier League history after winning the title on 13 occasions, it’s Guardiola who boasts the best points-per-match record (2.28 points per match). Ferguson is second on the list with a record of 2.16 points per match, but managed a whopping 810 games compared to Guardiola’s 364.

Ferguson and Guardiola are certainly part of the conversation when it comes to the debate over the league’s greatest ever manager, while Wenger, Jose Mourinho and Jurgen Klopp would all receive honourable mentions. Roberto Mancini and Antonio Conte picked up more than two points per match during their spells as managers in England’s top league, but neither coach is currently challenging the other five for the title of the Premier League’s best ever.

Despite City’s recent struggles, there’s still time for Guardiola to turn things around and extend his points-per-game average. The legendary manager signed a new two-year deal at the club in November 2024, but has since undergone the worst spell of his managerial career.

All statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt – accurate as of 28/01/2026.