Football mad Manchester United fan bumps into City manager Pep Guardiola

A father and son had a weekend to remember when they saw Manchester United win the derby in style - after they had bumped into Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola.

Josh Hawthorne, aged nine, who attends Sacred Heart School, Trench Road, in Derry, was joined by his dad, Matthew, for the Premier League clash. Josh is the son of Emma Sweeney and the godson of Johanna Sweeney from Letterkenny.

Josh has been going to Old Trafford since he was small, as he and his dad are season ticket holders. He has met a few players outside Old Trafford and at the Carrington training pitch in the past, but was lucky to have met and got his picture taken with Guardiola at The City Suites ApartHotel, Manchester, before the game on Saturday.

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Josh loves football and had an amazing weekend watching Man United beat their old rivals at the Manchester derby, 2-0, with Bryan Mbeumo and Patrick Dorgu scoring the goals.

Like all young lads, Josh is a huge Cristiano Ronaldo fan and follows his progress online.

“As his godmother, I have been taking him to see Derry City FC since he was five years old to encourage his enthusiasm, and of all the supporters there, he is without doubt the loudest,” Johanna told DonegalLive. “We are really excited and looking forward to seeing James McClean return to the Brandywell to spice things up for the 2026 season.

“His uncle Gavin has tried very hard to persuade him to follow Coventry City, who are doing well this year, top of the Sky Bet Championship - but Josh is a loyal United fan even through the hard times!”

Josh is a striker in the 2016 team with Core Academy Football Club, Derry, where his mum and little sister Sophie can be heard cheering him on from the sidelines. Matthew has recently joined as a coach of the team.”

Josh is very active, playing in all of the amazing tournaments held in Northern Ireland, his favourite being The Foyle Cup, where they have a great week engaging with teams from all over. This year, they travel to Barcelona representing CSA to take part in the Football Club Barcelona 2026.