Pep Guardiola Claims He Wants to Leave Manchester City IF the Club Doesn’t Reduce The Squad.
Team manager Pep Guardiola has openly threatened Manchester City with his departure if the bosses don’t reduce the squad around former DFB captain Ilkay Gündogan.
“I told the club that I don’t want it that way,” Guardiola said after the 3-1 win against AFC Bournemouth about the many professionals: “I don’t want to have to put five or six players on ice. I don’t want that. I will stop. Reduce the squad – and I’ll stay.”
Manchester City’s Team Manager Pep Guardiola
Squad Too Big: “Impossible for My Soul”
Against AFC, the star coach had to put five established professionals in the stands because the matchday squad can only include 20 players. These conditions, Guardiola said, are “impossible for my soul”. It “shouldn’t be like that anymore” next season.
The 54-year-old continued: “I can’t train 24 players and every time I choose the squad, leave four, five or six of them at home in Manchester because they’re not allowed to play. That’s not going to happen. I told the club that.”
City spent more than 200 million pounds (around 240 million euros) on new stars like Omar Marmoush from Eintracht Frankfurt in the winter. The only departure at the end of the season is playmaker Kevin De Bruyne.
From Guardiola’s point of view, too many top players endanger “team hygiene”. In case of injuries, he could also rely on young players, he said. For the Premier League, 25 professionals may be registered and, in addition, players younger than 21 years old can be added at any time. The City squad on the club’s website lists 28 players, plus four who are on loan this season.