Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has claimed he could quit if faced with a bloated squad next season, expressing his discomfort at excluding too many fit players from his starting XI.
With Liverpool snatching the Premier League title this time around, the Citizens are anticipated to engage actively in the transfer window to rejuvenate their ageing squad, hinting at more exits following Kevin De Bruyne’s farewell appearance at the Etihad.
Guardiola, who faced a challenging season plagued by injuries and an intensive schedule, emphasised the importance of maintaining a trim squad. “I said to the club I don’t want that (a bigger squad),” he insisted. “I don’t want to leave five or six players in the freezer. I don’t want that. I will quit. Make a shorter squad, I will stay.”
Guardiola stressed the personal difficulty of informing players they aren’t selected as he explained his reasoning. “It’s impossible for my soul to (tell) my players in the tribune that they cannot play,” he said.
The Catalan also reflected on the difficulties endured this season due to injuries, with selections severely limited at times. “Now it happened to add players immediately,” he said.
“Maybe for three or four months we couldn’t select 11 players, we didn’t have defenders, it was so difficult. After, people come back but next season it cannot be like that.
“As a manager I cannot train 24 players and every time I select I have to have four, five, six, stay in Manchester at home because they cannot play. This is not going to happen. I said to the club I don’t want that.”
Despite the injury setbacks this season — most notably the long-term absence of Rodri, who made his first appearance since September as a second-half substitute on Tuesday night — Guardiola stated he would rather supplement the squad with academy players.
This statement implies City will need to reduce their squad size before bringing in any new faces in the summer transfer window.
“If I have injuries, unlucky, we have some players from the academy and we do it,” Guardiola declared. “(We) cannot sustain for the emotion of the club, the soul of the team, (to) create another connection with each other that this season we lost it a bit.”
Earlier this week, reports suggested that City have lessened their interest in Bayer Leverkusen attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz, who is being pursued by newly crowned Premier League champion Liverpool and Bundesliga winner Bayern Munich.
Learn more
Liverpool is on the brink of signing another Leverkusen player, attacking right-back Jeremie Frimpong, with a medical having already taken place. The Reds are also eyeing Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez to strengthen their left-back options, but they face competition from Manchester City for the $60 million (£45 million) rated Hungarian international.
City had to overcome Bournemouth on Tuesday to keep their Champions League qualification hopes alive and a draw against Fulham this Sunday should seal the deal. The match kicked off with Omar Marmoush netting an impressive goal, and despite De Bruyne missing a clear chance, Bernardo Silva managed to double the lead before half-time.
A flurry of red cards saw City’s Mateo Kovacic and Bournemouth’s Lewis Cook sent off, before Nico Gonzalez added a late third for the hosts. Daniel Jebbison managed to pull one back in stoppage time.
Liverpool, the reigning champions, and Arsenal, who are currently second, have already secured their spots in next season’s Champions League. The fight for the remaining three Premier League qualification spots is heating up, with City, Newcastle United, Chelsea, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest all in contention ahead of Sunday’s final round of fixtures.
Liverpool.com says: Guardiola has always favored a smaller squad but it is a risk. Arne Slot seemingly likes having two players in each position, which feels much more sensible when it comes to challenging on all fronts.
