The Catalan has won 11 trophies and broken countless records at the Etihad Stadium, but he knows they will be forever shrouded in suspicion
The legendary American sprinter Florence Griffith Joyner holds the women's world record for both the 100 metres and 200 metres. Yet in the eyes of many of the Olympic champion's peers and successors, there is an invisible asterisk beside both times.
Why? Because they believe that Griffith Joyner was doping, even though she never failed a drug test before her death at the age of 38.
Indeed, compatriot Gwen Torrence does not even "acknowledge those records… To me, they don't exist."
Manchester City's records, titles and trophies are also now in danger of being disregarded by rivals, which Pep Guardiola is pretty p*ssed off about…
Getty'Those moments belong to us'
A fortnight ago, after City had been charged with more than 100 breaches of the Premier League's financial regulations between 2009 and 2018, there was immediate speculation that the club might be stripped of the titles they won during that time frame.
Former Liverpool midfielder Lucas Leiva, who has a runners-up medal from 2013-14, asked on Twitter, "Am I a Premier League champion?"
Guardiola, though, mounted an extraordinary defence of his Abu Dhabi-based employers, and was enraged by the suggestion that the most famous moments in City's history had been somehow tarnished by the allegations of financial misconduct.
"Come on!" he said. "Those moments belong to us, regardless of the sentence. Think about what we’ve done… that goal from Sergio Aguero [against QPR in 2012], nobody can remove that. I don’t know, are we responsible for Steven Gerrard slipping at Anfield? Was that our fault, too?"
AdvertisementGetty ImagesGuardiola 'ashamed' of himself
Not since his famous "f*cking master" tirade against Jose Mourinho in 2011 had we seen Guardiola go off on such a rant.
Back then, he was lauded for such a ballsy outburst. It was even seen as a pivotal moment in Barcelona's Champions League-winning campaign. However, this time around, even Guardiola acknowledged that he stepped over the mark by taking an "unnecessary" and "stupid" cheap-shot at Gerrard, subsequently admitting that he was "ashamed" of himself for referencing the former Liverpool captain's slip against Chelsea during the closing stages of the 2013-14 Premier League title race.
However, it gave us one of those all-too-rare insights into the mind of a genius: Guardiola, one of the game's great thinkers, a man who is usually so composed and collected, is visibly rattled right now.
He is bitter, paranoid, desperate and deluded, which is, honestly, a little sad from a neutral perspective, but also wholly understandable.
Because he knows what is at stake here: his entire legacy at Manchester City.
GettyA lengthy legal battle
Normally at this time of year, when Guardiola is preparing his team for the knockout stages of the Champions League, he is repeatedly asked about whether his entire tenure at the Etihad Stadium can really be judged a success if he fails to conquer Europe.
However, with City set to face RB Leipzig in the tournament's last 16 on Wednesday, it's fair to wonder if it even matters anymore.
Guardiola may have recently extended his contract until 2025, but it's still highly likely that he will be gone by the conclusion of the Premier League's case against City.
It will be years before any punishment is dished out, with legal experts predicting that City will attempt to bury the Premier League in paperwork.
That's hardly good news for Guardiola, though. The club, its finances and its achievements will remain shrouded in suspicion until the day he departs. And he knows it, too.
Getty'You know exactly what side I am on'
Guardiola is acutely aware that City have been already found guilty in the court of public opinion.
"My thoughts are that we have already been condemned," he told reporters. "You have to understand that the 19 teams of the Premier League are accusing us without any opportunity to defend ourselves.
"You know exactly what side I am on… If we are not innocent, we will accept what the judge or Premier League decide, but what happens if it's the same as UEFA and we are innocent? What happens to restore our damage?"
Guardiola is right to argue that everyone should be considered innocent until proven guilty, but he was also playing fast and loose with the truth here.