Man City manager Pep Guardiola's mother, 82, dies of coronavirus in Spain days after he donated $1.08M to fight virus
The mother of Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has passed away after contracting the deadly coronavirus, the club has confirmed.
The Premier League champions confirmed that Dolors Sala Carrió died on April 6, in Manresa, Barcelona, from the coronavirus, a statement released on Twitter read.
"The Manchester City family are devastated to report the death today of Pep’s mother Dolors Sala Carrió in Manresa, Barcelona after contracting Corona Virus. She was 82-years-old," the statement read. "Everyone associated with the club sends their most heartfelt sympathy at this most distressing time to Pep, his family and all their friends."
Dolors was married to Guardiola's father, Valenti, and was also the mother to the Manchester City boss's two older sisters and younger brother Pere, a football agent, according to the Mirror.
The devastating news comes j after the former Barcelona player and manager donated $1.08 million towards providing medical equipment for the fight against the coronavirus pandemic in his home country of Spain, The donation was made to a campaign launched by the Angel Soler Daniel Foundation and Medical College of Barcelona. "Pep Guardiola has made a donation of one million Euros to the Angel Soler Daniel Foundation for the acquisition and supply of health equipment to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic," confirmed the college.
"The donation campaign promoted by the Medical College of Barcelona and managed through the Angel Soler Daniel Foundation aims to collect medical materials and financial contributions from collegiate doctors and the general population, for the purchase of medical equipment and equipment that is currently lacking in health centers in Catalonia," the statement continued.
"It will also help finance the alternative production, through 3D printing and other methods, of respirators and personal protection equipment for healthcare staff."
Spain has the highest number of confirmed cases of coronavirus and has been hit hardest by the pandemic. As per John Hopkins University's live-tracking dashboard, the country has more than 135,000 confirmed cases and over 13,000 deaths from the novel coronavirus. The region of Catalonia, where Guardiola hails from, has one of the highest concentrations of the illness within Spain.
Guardiola, however, is not the only one in the footballing world to have been affected by the current pandemic. Over a third of Spanish top-flight team, Valencia's team tested positive for the virus after the outbreak, while a similar situation had befallen Italy's Atalanta B.C.
Atalanta is a team based in the province of Bergamo, Lombardo, arguably the epicenter of the outbreak in Italy. Its goalkeeper, Marco Sportiello, most recently tested positive for the virus, taking the number of confirmed cases among players in Serie A to 15.
The deadly disease is believed to have spread in the region following a Champions League match between Atalanta in Valencia in Milan on 19 February that was attended by around 40,000 fans.
"It was crowded in the stadium and then afterward in the bars," said Bergamo mayor Giorgio Gori. "For sure, that night there was a strong escalation of contagion between people."
