Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola said he feels bad that Julen Lopetegui was dismissed at Real Madrid but added that "if we don't win we will be sacked."

"Football I know what it is, we are still here because we win games, if we don't win we will be sacked," Guardiola said when asked at a news conference about Lopetegui following City's 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur on Monday.

Real Madrid fired Lopetegui on Monday after just four months in charge, with the ex-Spain coach paying the price following Sunday's 5-1 humiliation against Barcelona in El Clasico.

Julen Lopetegui and Pep Guardiola played together at Barcelona and coached against each other when at Porto and Bayern Munich, respectively, in the 2015 Champions League quarterfinals. GUENTER SCHIFFMANN/AFP/Getty Images

"I'm sorry for Julen because he's a friend of mine. He's an exceptional person," the ex-Barcelona boss said, adding that they have a solid relationship stemming from their playing days at the Catalan club. Guardiola, while at the helm of Bayern Munich, bested Lopetegui's Porto in the 2015 Champions League quarterfinals.

Guardiola had sustained success over Real Madrid while managing Barcelona, with 9 wins, 2 losses and 4 ties across all competitions. The two losses were in La Liga (2012) and Copa del Rey final (2011).

"I want to call him in the next few days," Guardiola said. "It is what it is. It's football, nobody escapes that. When you have bad results you will not continue in big, big places like Barcelona or Madrid ... I wish him all the best."