Amid a surprisingly fraught season at Manchester City, news broke on Monday that decorated manager Pep Guardiola is separating from his wife, Cristina Serra.
Although Guardiola has worked at the Etihad for nearly nine years, the couple are thought to have lived apart for at least five of them, with Serra living in Barcelona with their three children Maria, 24, Marius, 22, and Valentina, 17.
Guardiola and Serra are said to be keen for relations to remain as they are, namely, ‘friendly and cordial’, but with the possibility of a looming divorce, maintaining such an atmosphere could prove challenging.
The former Barcelona manager is believed to be worth an estimated £35million, and could yet see a portion settled with Serra after their 30-year marriage.
But where might a Guardiola-Serra divorce rank amongst some of the sporting universe’s blockbuster stories?
Here, Mail Sport runs the rule of some of the costliest divorces in the world of sport.
Amid turmoil at Man City, Pep Guardiola is separating from his wife of 30 years Cristina Serra
The couple had been living apart for a number of years with Guardiola in Manchester and Serra in Barcelona
The pair are said to be amicable and cordial as they prepare to call time on their marriage
Bernie and Slavica Ecclestone
Married for 24 years, the divorce between Bernie Ecclestone and his ex-wife Slavica Radic is one of the most expensive in history – regardless of the profession of the stars involved.
Radic, Ecclestone’s second wife, shares two children with the Formula One tycoon but parted ways with the former chief executive on the grounds of his ‘unreasonable behaviour’ in 2009.
Due to the length of their marriage, Radic was entitled to half of his then £2.4billion fortune, and later smashed the British record for a divorce settlement when she recieved her £1bn portion after a High Court judge granted the decree nisi in just 58 seconds.
Slavica Radic (centre left) met her former husband Bernie Ecclestone while working as an Armani model at a promotional event
The Formula One tycoon wife’s was awarded close to £1billion in her 2009 divorce settlement
Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren
Although the couple are now thought to be on good terms, few could have predicted such a harmonious ending to the split sparked by Tiger Woods’ infamous car crash in November 2009.
Woods’ collision with a fire hydrant and a tree outside the couple’s Florida mansion came on the heels of a National Enquirer report which claimed the legendary golfer had been having an affair with Rachel Uchitel, a VIP nightclub hostess. Nordegren is thought to have smashed one of Woods’ golf clubs over the car in an argument, and with days, multiple women had come forward to share their own stories about affairs with the star.
By the time the dust had settled on their divorce, Nordegren is believed to have received over £82.1m ($100m), plus child support, with the pair now co-parenting daughter Sam, 17, and son Charlie, 15.
Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren were married for six years before they separated citing his numerous infidelities
The pair are often spotted (pictured in 2024) supporting their children Sam and Charlie’s sporting endeavours
Thierry Henry and Claire Merry
Married to Claire Merry since 2003, all seemed rosy with Thierry Henry, who had purchased a home in London and had a two-year-old daughter in the thick of a decorated spell at Arsenal.
But in September 2007 a high court judge in London granted the couple their divorce, with Merry arguing Henry’s ‘unreasonable behaviour’ was the reason – and the France international choosing not to contest the grounds.
Having met when Henry and Merry starred in a TV advert for Renault, model Merry was awarded close to her requested sum of £10m in 2008, with Henry said to be on around £130,000-a-week in Spain during his stint at Barcelona.
Thierry Henry met his ex-wife Claire Merry on the set of an advertisement for Renault during his Arsenal heyday
Ray and Karen Parlour
In one of the more controversial rulings on the list, former Arsenal star Ray Parlour lost at least a third of his income to ex-wife Karen – for at least four years, with Karen awarded extra yearly maintenance having argued that her former husband’s future earnings were a ‘matrimonial resource’ that she was entitled to share upon the divorce.
She was awarded £250,000 annual maintenance, with the judge ruling that Parlour’s offer of £120,000 did not reflect the role Karen had played in helping his career in persuading him to move away from a ‘laddish’ drinking culture prior to Arsene Wenger’s arrival as Arsenal manager.
Having married in 1998, the pair met eight years prior and split in late 2001 with one child to show for their marriage.
Overall, three appeal court judges awarded Karen £444,000-a-year – as well as costs – with Ray on a reported £1.2million-a-year at the time. The divorce was branded a landmark case, with Sandra Davis, a partner who handled Princess Diana’s divorce, suggesting it would lead to ‘little or no desire for a woman to marry again and endanger her income stream unless the man is hugely wealthy’. Karen was represented by Liz Vernon – who later represented Slavica Radic.
Karen Parlour received a portion of Ray Parlour’s future earnings in their 2004 separation
Karen – who was represented by Radic’s lawyer Liz Vernon – argued that she had played a key role in her ex-husband’s career
Mike Tyson and Robin Givens
After meeting and marrying inside eight months, the whirlwind romance between Mike Tyson and Robin Givens took an even shorter amount of time to sour. The actress and Iron Mike’s combustible partnership reached its destructive zenith in September 1988 when the pair appeared on a shocking episode of 20/20 with Barbara Walters.
Givens described their relationship as ‘torture, pure hell, worse than anything I could possibly imagine’, and later alleged domestic abuse and gained a restraining order. Tyson denied her claims, and sought an annulment, accusing her of stealing money from him and lying about an earlier miscarriage she had suffered.
By Valentine’s Day 1989, their divorce was finalised and Givens is thought to have walked away with a £6.5m ($8m) settlement. However, Givens has since stated that she ‘didn’t receive one dime’ from the fighter, who was then estimated to be worth £41m ($50m).
Robin Givens and Mike Tyson’s combustible partnership saw them fall in love and marry within just eight months
But just a few months later, the pair made an infamous appearance on 20/20 laying bare the realities of their brief marriage
Lance and Kristin Armstrong
At the height of his fame – and before crashing back down to earth after his doping confession – the disgraced cyclist is thought to have been worth close to £86m ($105m), and it was during this period that he left his ex-wife Kristin.
Kristin Armstrong was a public relations manager who met her husband-to-be at a press conference in 1997, and the pair were married a year later, as Armstrong recovered from testicular cancer.
After giving up her career to start a family and support Armstrong during his pursuit of seemingly matchless Tour de France glory, Kristin had three children with the former athlete before their divorce in 2003 – which is thought to have cost Armstrong over £12m ($15m).
Lance and Kristin Armstrong met at a press conference in 1997 and married a year later
Former public relations specialist Kristin gave up her career to support the disgraced cyclist
Ryan Giggs and Stacey Cooke
In one of the more acrimonious splits in recent footballing history, Manchester United legend Giggs separated from his wife of four years Cooke in 2011 after it came to light that for eight years of their long-term relationship, the winger had been having an affair with Natasha Lever – the wife of his younger brother Rhodri. Giggs had also been unfaithful with a number of other women, including Big Brother star Imogen Thomas.
The former couple – who share two children – took their time finalising the divorce, which eventually came through in 2017, which saw them announce that they had reached an agreement.
Choosing to keep the exact figure in the dark, as per the Sun figures discussed in the wake of their split suggested that Cooke would be able to receive a settlement worth half of his staggering £48m fortune.
Ryan Giggs and his ex-wife Stacey Cooke separated in 2011 following the revelation that the former Man United player had been unfaithful
The couple (pictured in 2011) eventually finalised their divorce just under six years later
Linda Claridge and Hulk Hogan
Like Giggs, WWE legend Hulk Hogan – given name Terry Bollea – saw his marriage end after he was accused of being unfaithful. Hogan is thought to have cheated on his wife of 24 years with a friend of his daughter Brooke’s, Christiane Plante, prompting Linda to file for divorce in 2007.
Over two, choppy years, their divorce was settled in 2009, with Linda walking arway with more than 70 per cent of the couple’s liquid assets, plus a 40 per cent ownership stake in her husband’s companies.
On top of that initial settlement, Linda also received a £2.4m ($3m) property settlement – with the total amount received estimated at over £9m ($11m) in total.
Hulk Hogan enjoyed a 24-year marriage with Linda Claridge before she filed for divorce in 2007
Hogan was accused of having an affair with a friend of his daughter Brooke’s (pictured centre right) – which was confirmed in 2008
Michael Jordan and Juanita Vanoy (pictured in 2000) married just five years into his career
Michael Jordan and Juanita Vanoy
Jordan and Vanoy were married at Las Vegas’ famous A Little White Wedding Chapel in September 1989, just five years into his landmark NBA career. But 13 years and three children later, the couple made the decision to separate.
Although they briefly reconciled in 2002, by 2006 divorce papers had been filed, and the pair went about their business of dividing Jordan’s staggering fortune.
Vanoy is believed to have received half of the Chicago Bulls legend’s estate, with the sum estimated at around £138m ($168m).
