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PSG's Pochettino Relishing Challenge Against 'Amazing' Guardiola

Paris St. Germain manager Mauricio Pochettino. (AFP)
Paris St. Germain manager Mauricio Pochettino. (AFP)
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PSG's Pochettino Relishing Challenge Against 'Amazing' Guardiola

Paris St. Germain manager Mauricio Pochettino. (AFP)
Paris St. Germain manager Mauricio Pochettino. (AFP)

Paris St. Germain manager Mauricio Pochettino said his Manchester City counterpart Pep Guardiola is the best coach in the world as they prepare to renew their rivalry in the Champions League semi-finals on Wednesday.

The pair have locked horns before, both on the pitch and in the dugout, lining up against each other in their playing days for city rivals Barcelona and Espanyol before going on to manage their respective clubs.

They were also in opposition in the Premier League during Pochettino's five years at Tottenham Hotspur. The Argentine took Spurs to the Champions League final two years ago, knocking Guardiola's City out in the quarter-finals.

"For me, he is the best," Pochettino, who replaced Thomas Tuchel as PSG boss midway through the season, told British media.

"I admire him and think he is doing a fantastic job. He is an amazing coach, always thinking of different strategies and game-plans. I love to challenge him and the teams he prepared.

"Not only the best manager. The club is important, too. A club that trusts you to build a team and provides you with all the tools."

Pochettino said his side's loss to Bayern Munich in last season's Champions League final would give them added motivation this time around.

"We now have the experience but we need to go step by step. Now, we have to beat Manchester City and it is going to be really, really tough."

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Climate Activists Target Messi's Mansion in Spain's Ibiza

Climate activists spray-painted Messi's mansion on the Spanish holiday island of Ibiza. Handout / Futuro Vegetal/AFP
Climate activists spray-painted Messi's mansion on the Spanish holiday island of Ibiza. Handout / Futuro Vegetal/AFP
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Climate Activists Target Messi's Mansion in Spain's Ibiza

Climate activists spray-painted Messi's mansion on the Spanish holiday island of Ibiza. Handout / Futuro Vegetal/AFP
Climate activists spray-painted Messi's mansion on the Spanish holiday island of Ibiza. Handout / Futuro Vegetal/AFP

Climate activists on Tuesday spray-painted a mansion on the Spanish holiday island of Ibiza belonging to Argentina football star Lionel Messi to highlight the "responsibility of the rich for the climate crisis".
Campaigners from the group Futuro Vegetal released a video showing two members standing in front of the house near the cove of Cala Tarida on Ibiza's western coast holding a banner that read: "Help the Planet -- Eat the Rich -- Abolish the Police."
The activists then sprayed the white facade of the building with red and black paint, said AFP.
In a statement, the group said they wanted to show "the responsibility of the rich for the climate crisis" by targeting the mansion which they said was an "illegal construction".
Futuro Vegetal cited a 2023 Oxfam report that found that the richest one percent of the world's population generated the same amount of carbon emissions in 2019 as the poorest two thirds of humanity, despite the fact that the most vulnerable communities are the ones suffering the "worst consequences" of this crisis.
Messi, who currently plays for Inter Miami in the US, reportedly bought the property on the Mediterranean island -- which includes a spa with a sauna and a cinema room -- in 2022 from a Swiss businessman for around 11 million euros ($12 million).
But the mansion lacked a certificate of occupancy, a document issued by a local government agency certifying it is in a liveable condition, due the construction of several rooms in the property without a license, according to Spanish media reports.
Futuro Vegetal, which is linked to similar groups internationally, has staged dozens of similar protests, including one in 2022 where they glued their hands to frames of paintings by Spanish master Francisco de Goya at Madrid's Prado museum.
Last year activists from the group spray-painted a superyacht moored in Ibiza with red and black paint that reportedly belonged to Nancy Walton Laurie, the billionaire heiress of US retail giant Walmart.
Spanish police in January said they had arrested 22 members of the Futuro Vegetal, including the two who staged the protest at the Prado as well as the group's top three leaders.