The Spanish manager “will quit” unless the club agree to trim down the squad
Pep Guardiola has issued an ultimatum to Manchester City to reduce the size of the squad this summer or he will walk away. The City boss has made it clear that he prefers a smaller, tightly-knit team and that the current situation with a bloated squad is unmanageable.
Tuesday’s 3-1 victory over Bournemouth was another reminder for the Spaniard of the sheer volume of talent at his disposal. Talent yes, but also a point of frustration: first-team players Abdukodir Khusanov, Savinho, James McAtee, and Rico Lewis were all left out of the squad entirely. With so much depth, players who work hard and are ready to contribute are often sidelined.
“I said to the club I don’t want that,” said Guardiola. “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. It’s impossible for my soul to give my players in the [stands] that they cannot play. Now it happened to add players immediately.”
City’s injury crisis earlier in the season had justified a January spending spree of over £200 million, with reinforcements brought in to keep the campaign alive. But now that most players are fit again, the manager finds himself having to exclude multiple players, both senior and young, from matchday squads.
In Guardiola’s view, an oversized squad undermines the system of football he has built by creating frustration and detachment for players consistently left out. And the pressure of managing disappointed players week after week is something he’s not willing to tolerate.
“Maybe [for] three, 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,” he said.
“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.”
