"God first" for Guehi

When Marc Guéhi, 25, put pen to paper on a five‑and‑a ‑half‑year contract with Manchester City, he didn’t just make one of the Premier League’s biggest defensive moves of the January window – he carried his Christian faith with him.

The England centre‑back’s £20 million transfer from Crystal Palace was hailed by manager Pep Guardiola as packing “top central defender” quality into an injury‑hit backline.

And Guéhi was characteristically humble, calling City “the best club in England”.

But anyone who’s followed Guéhi’s journey knows the defender’s faith has been as central to his identity as his football.

Born in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, in 2000 and raised in Lewisham, London, he grew up the son of a church minister – “God first” was the rule at home.

Guéhi hasn’t been shy about that conviction.

In December 2024, he made global headlines when, while captaining Palace in a Premier League match, he wrote “I love Jesus” on his rainbow captain’s armband during Stonewall’s Rainbow Laces week – and then followed that up with “Jesus loves you” in a subsequent game.

Sky News reported that the FA reminded him that religious messaging on equipment is prohibited under its rules – yet there were no formal sanctions.

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