Pep Guardiola dons exclusive watch worth $1.4m for Champions League tie vs Real Madrid

Pep Guardiola is one of the lucky few on the planet who is able to wear one of Richard Mille’s most exclusive watches after being spotted wearing it against Real Madrid on Tuesday.

The Manchester City coach was seen wearing the 27-01 watch, a special edition timepiece that was designed by the brand as a tribute to Spanish tennis icon Rafael Nadal.

Only 50 units were produced worldwide and Guardiola, one of the highest-paid soccer coaches in the world, is one of the few known owners.

Its price is as special as its appearance, with a value of $1.4million (1.3m), and even for some of the richest celebrities, it is not accessible to everyone.

Pep wore the stunning Richard Mille wristwatch during the first leg of Man City’s Champions League quarter-final, which ended in a thrilling 3-3 draw at the Santiago Bernabeu.

In addition to its spectacular design, the Catalan coach’s jewel includes the feature of being the lightest mechanical watch in the world. It was one of the clear objectives of those responsible for the firm, which was founded by the Frenchman Richard Mille in 2001.

The Gallic entrepreneur has made technology and innovation central to his flagship brand and transferred these ideas to his impressive watches. The weight of the one worn by Guardiola against Real Madrid is 18.83g.

As the brand points out, that includes the strap and it achieves this by using materials such as grade five titanium, aluminium and lithium to piece together the Richard Mille 27-01.

The unbreakable watch

The Richard Mille 27-01 is a masterpiece in watchmaking, as its makers claim it is built to withstand acceleration exceeding 5,000G.

Its design is as delicate as it is sophisticated, based on meticulously assembled tension cables. Adjusting the tension, which can be neither too tight nor too tight, could damage the mechanism or prevent it from working properly.

The watch was put on sale for $860,000 (800,000), but over time it has almost doubled in value. The fact that sports professionals such as Nadal and Guardiola wear it makes this piece, the highest representation of the most cutting-edge watchmaking, even more exclusive.