Pep Guardiola has issued a significant insight into Manchester City and an approach made to the Premier League regarding the start of next season.
The Catalan coach has been speaking ahead of Manchester City’s final match before the second international match of the new season, as Fulham visit the Etihad Stadium in fine form since the start of the campaign.
Having only lost their opening match of the season in a 1-0 defeat to Manchester United, Marco Silva’s side visit the home of the Premier League champions in fine form, and could pose a serious threat to Manchester City’s unbeaten start to the campaign.
City however struck fine form at the perfect time before the clash with the Cottagers, putting four goals past Slovan Bratislava in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday night, claiming their first three points of the new league phase format.
Speaking during the second-half of his pre-match press conference, Guardiola discussed a wide range of subjects including a claim regarding Manchester City and approaching the Premier League over postponing their opening games next season.
City face the prospect of next to no holiday time or pre-season preparations before the start of the 2025/26 top-flight campaign, having competed in the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States over the course of the summer.
Among the other subjects discussed by Pep Guardiola was the remarkable career of Kyle Walker as the England international moves on the verge of 400 Premier League appearances, whilst there was also an important update on the fitness of Nathan Ake.
Here is every single word from the embargoed section of Pep Guardiola’s pre-Fulham press conference at the City Football Academy on Friday afternoon!
On whether Kyle Walker is ‘slowing down’ at all
“I don’t have any doubts about Kyle, about his physicality. He can play wherever. Kyle is focussed on what he has to do. I’m happy he’s back in the national team, and this milestone is unbelievable. I think his win rate is not spectacular, it’s superior.
“So that’s why congratulate them because that means how consistent, how many games you have to play, how few injuries, because his physicality is out of the normal. Kyle has to be completely focussed to get the best of him.”
On whether Kyle Walker took time to get back up to speed this season
“He has to play. The best form is playing, but he has to be there in every training session and the games and the minutes he played. All the teams need competitions. I said many times for the players; there are many players that have been here for seven, eight years all together and demand to play.
“But demand because of what they have done in the past; because I’ve won the Premier Leagues, I’ve won here, all the players, the senior ones, I’m not talking about Savinho and it’s his first year here. Many years! That is part of history, that doesn’t count.
“You have to perform well right now to play, tomorrow at 3PM – this is the only thing that counts in modern sport, in modern football.”
On Kevin De Bruyne asking to skip Belgium’s camp in November to look after his body
“He knows his body. Every player knows it, but especially in that age, and especially after a tough surgery. It will be the same with Rodri. I know from my experience that when you have this long injury, after that you have to be careful.
“And the problem Kevin has is just the consequences from the last surgery, the last season and five months out. And when that happens, when you have this surgery, your body becomes unbalanced – something is right, left – it’s something.
“That’s why you have to work out of the pitch a lot, to make your body as balanced as possible, and you cannot play every three days. Because after one year you’ll be perfect, but it is what it is.
“So we have to understand it, and that’s the reason why he decided for himself and for (Domenico) Tedesco to decide what is the best for him. Because the best for him is the best for the national team.”
On Kevin De Bruyne’s problem specifically
“I don’t know in English – Pubis? I don’t know! It’s something here, the upper body for the lower body. It’s not a big issue, but still he doesn’t feel good.”
On how you go about managing a player of Kevin De Bruyne’s age with niggles and fitness issues
“I would like to be told today I am tired, today I will not be ready, it’s better to have less minutes, but the players don’t say that. I would love! They want to play every single game, and that’s nice, that’s fine, but in some moments the body says, ‘Warnings! I’m here!’
“Because they are humans, and it’s a lot of games, a lot of years, many years of injuries, and long ones and the consequences are here. The same with a car when they go to be replaced for some things, and it’s not the same car. There is something that is a little bit worse.
“It’s not the same as when you got to buy a car. And it’s normal, it’s a lot of years there, and that is part of the decisions you have to take when you think about selections, a bit about the future, the teams, the squad.
“It’s not about the talent of the player, it’s there, they are really, really good all of them. But there are players that have age and it happens, it’s normal.”
On the importance of having a dressing room full of senior, experienced players
“It’s better. Much better. They to! Absolutely, it’s like that, it’s modern football. I think life is not all the time the manager who says what they have to do, there are many subjects, many issues, many things that happen there and they have to solve it.
“They don’t even knock on my door of my office. When it’s a big problem, of course I’m there, I will intervene, but the rest they have to.”
On how much he speaks to the players now, and whether it has decreased since he arrived
“Yeah (he speaks to them less now). Much less, yeah. We know each other quite well. They know there are issues that are not necessary. (What do you talk to them about now? Tactics for the last match, next match?) Yeah, mainly. It’s why I’m here. Mainly that is the reason why.
“When there is something that I smell, or the people say to me it’s happened this, OK I reflect and say, ‘OK, their business, and say oh oh, I don’t like that and let’s go. Let’s talk!’ It’s simple.”
On whether he has a good feeling about the team
“They love me so much! Honestly. They adore me. Don’t laugh! It’s true!”
On whether he has seen any players holding back out of fear for a similar situation to Rodri
“Talk to them about if they are concerned about the injury to Rodri? No, they don’t think about that! What is going to happen is going to happen. Just go, don’t stress! You never know what is going to happen. Just prepare better your body.
“Of course if you are not well prepared, of course it is more risky. But they are well prepared, mentally and everything so it’s not a problem. (Not affected the players mentally?) No I don’t think so. They want to play, they want to do their best when they are there.
“We feel sorry for Oscar (Bobb), for Rodri, for all the injuries we’ve had in the past. All clubs have long injuries; the demands of this sport every day is tougher, and faster, and quicker, stronger, the contacts and everything, the weather conditions, less recovery – the risk is there.
“We know it. But we don’t have to think about it otherwise as much you think, as much as you are concerned about that, more risk is going to happen. Just flow and try to do your best, and that’s all.”
On whether he thinks about a normal season, or whether he has to consider the FIFA tournament as well
“It’s quite similar from the previous season, I would say. The only difference was the World Cup season in Qatar, like everyone knows what happened. But the rest is, and the only problem I would say will be the next season, in the beginning.
“That will be, I don’t know what is going to happen. The season, as much as you go through in the competitions, FA Cup, Champions League, and so on, you have two more games in the Champions League, but two more games is not much, much different I would say.
“The big difference is when you finish the season and you go to holidays, you have to go to the States to play the World Cup. That is the moment that is going to affect. The rest I would say is quite similar to the previous seasons.”
On whether players could be exhausted by the time the Club World Cup arrives
“Yeah, it’s going to happen. Well, it depends if you are in the last stages of the FA Cup, last stages of the… So I don’t know if this season, at the end of the season, for the States in the World Cup we are going to play more games than the Treble year, when we won the Treble and played all the games in the season. Maybe we will play less games!
“But at the end, at this part, at this month, these three weeks, and after the holidays that the Premier League didn’t allow us to postpone, with Chelsea I think, or all the teams that went to the World Cup, postponed the first two games to come for recovery – thank you so much!
“So if they don’t postpone these games, that will be the moment, ‘Oh, what do we have to do?!’ I don’t have an answer right now because I’ve not been there before. I don’t know. I think we’re going to take a decision, I would say, with common sense.
“We’re going to see the players, we’re going to see how is the schedule, and after we’re going to decide.”
On whether the Premier League have now allowed City and Chelsea to delay their first games of next season
“The first one, the first game, I think the club asked the Premier League, with the first or second game of the new Premier League, to postpone it by one, two or three weeks, to have one more week or two more weeks after the Club World Cup.
(Is that not allowed?) “Absolutely not! The Premier League say yes to us?! No! Absolutely not! It’s not going to happen.”
On whether Manchester City’s traditionally fine form in the later months is already in his mind
“Never think about future, March, February, what happens at the World Cup – never ever! I demand from my team, from myself, every single game do the best! I don’t know what’s going to, ‘No we’re going to do that plan because in February we’ll be perfect!’ Who knows that?!
“I plan to be 12 months perfect! This is what I plan, knowing that there will be ups and downs and moments when we will be there. This is my plan. Pre-season, knowing that, OK do your best, and knowing that we are not best in the first games in the season or whatever – do the best every single time.
“Knowing that with this preparation… Prepare the game for tomorrow Fulham. All my preparations are Fulham. Not because in February, March it will be better. In February we are 20 points behind the leaders, or maybe we are 20 points in front – who knows?! The game next is the best solution. In my experience, it’s the best way.”
On Nathan Ake
“Yeah, we expect him back after the international break. I would say without injuries, but Nathan is not like Phil Foden for example, or another player, I don’t know that in two training sessions they are fit. He needs time!”
On the boost of Nathan Ake
“I think, the info I had yesterday or the day before is that he started training on the pitch, and we will see.”
On whether more players will start to follow Kevin De Bruyne’s trend with a view towards prolonging their season by dropping out of international duty
“It’s my advice; when they are fit, go to the national team. If you don’t feel good, don’t go. This is my advice. But… it’s my advice, it doesn’t mean they have to follow me! If they feel good, you have to represent your country.
“It’s the most, I would say for many players, the most important thing. But when you are not fit, recover, because you will be fine here and after you will be back better to the national team. But, it is what it is!
“That’s why Kevin (De Bruyne) takes, from my point of view, the smartest and wisest decision.”
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