Ted Lasso S3’s Pep Guardiola Cameo Was Years In The Making For Jason Sudeikis

“It’s not just his choice, you know, it’s also his body and his silhouette, you know?” Sudeikis continued. “And it’s — he’s got one of those, like, you know, little Mick Jagger waists, you know? It’s like you gotta put in an extra hole on those belts.”

The cameo comes at the end of a climactic clash between AFC Richmond and the current leader of the Premier League (and its winner in real life), Manchester City. This was not just a crucial game for Lasso and the team as a whole, but for Jamie Tartt, who has quietly become the best part of the season and originally played for Manchester City before quitting to become a reality TV star before the events of season one. 

When Richmond gets away with a win, Guardiola offers Ted Lasso some words of wisdom, before sharing a moment with his former player, Jamie. 

This “Ted Lasso” season has been a bit of a mixed bag. While it is still perfectly capable of offering poignant moments of emotion, some football exhilaration, and plenty of fantastic pop culture references — Coach Beard comparing his life to that of Jean Valjean in the penultimate episode was particularly fun — it is overly long, meandering, and too devoted to an underwhelming redemption tale. Still, moments like Guardiola’s cameo make it all worth it.