Tag: Pep Guardiola

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola dismissed speculation over his future at the club, insisting contract talks are not on the agenda despite rumours he could leave at the end of the season, but added his side were not yet good enough to win the title.

While Guardiola’s team, who host lowly West Ham United on Saturday, could overtake Arsenal for top spot in the Premier League this weekend, the Spaniard’s job status was the hot topic at his pre-game press conference.

“I always get asked this question, so sooner or later I will quit Manchester City,” Guardiola told reporters. “I have 18 months, so I’m so happy with the development of the team. That question is there every single season at some point. Whatever is going to happen will happen.

Read Also: Skit making saved, changed my life, says Patience Yisa (Pepe)

“They are not discussions. End of the subject. I will not be here forever. What is going to happen will happen. The club must be prepared but that subject is not on the table right now.”

Reports linked Enzo Maresca as a potential successor, although the Chelsea manager dismissed them earlier.

Pep Guardiola said he was “embarrassed and ashamed” of his behaviour after confronting a cameraman following Manchester City’s damaging 2-1 loss at Newcastle on Saturday.

The City manager reacted angrily after he was filmed close up following the final whistle, when he was involved in discussions with Newcastle player Bruno Guimaraes and match officials.

Guardiola had been angered by the decision to award what proved to be Newcastle’s winning goal in the 70^th  minute at St James’ Park, with City believing goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma had been fouled.

The City boss, speaking at a press conference on the eve of his team’s Champions League match against Bayer Leverkusen, said he had apologised for his behaviour.

 “I feel embarrassed and ashamed when I see it,” he said. “I don’t like it. I apologised to the cameraman after one second.

 “I am who I am. Even after 1,000 games I’m not a perfect person. I made a huge mistake…. The reason why is I want to defend my team and my club.”

Read Also: W’Cup 2026: NFF begs Tinubu, Nigerians over  Super Eagles’ setback

City’s fourth Premier League defeat of the season left them third in the table, seven points behind leaders Arsenal.

But Guardiola said the Newcastle reverse was “immediately forgotten” as he turned his attention to the Champions League.

City are fourth in the 36-team league phase after a strong start to their European campaign.

Midfielders Rodri and Mateo Kovacic are unavailable for today’s match against Leverkusen.

Guardiola said he did not have a timescale for Rodri’s return but it would not be long before he was back in action.

 “We will wait a little more to be sure he is fine,” he said.

Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola hailed the impact of the new signings who came straight into the team for the 2-0 win over Wydad Casablanca in their opening match at the Club World Cup on Wednesday.

Dutch midfielder Tijjani Reijnders and France attacking midfielder Rayan Cherki both started the game on a hot afternoon at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia after joining in the run-up to the tournament from AC Milan and Lyon respectively.

“He is a really, really good player. You feel it, you smell it. The pace, in the final third, with the ball, when he will get a little bit more rhythm, he will be top,” Guardiola said of Reijnders, 26, who played the whole game in sapping conditions.

Brought in to help fill the huge void left by Kevin De Bruyne’s departure, the 21-year-old Cherki lasted an hour before being substituted as City eased to victory in the Group G contest thanks to first-half goals by Phil Foden and Jeremy Doku.

“Of course Kevin is difficult to replace, we know that, for the quality that he has,” Guardiola said. “There is no doubt about that but at the same time the club decided on Rayan because he has incredible skills close to the box, incredible vision, many things.

“This was just the first game, in really tough conditions, and I am really pleased he is here.”

Read Also: Int’l Friendly: NFF hails Abiodun on cash gifts to Falcons, Lionesses

There was an experimental look to the City line-up against the Moroccan side, with young Brazilian defender Vitor Reis starting for just the third time since signing in January while Nathan Ake made a first appearance for his club since late February.

The five most-used outfield players for City over the course of the last campaign – Josko Gvardiol, Bernardo Silva, Erling Haaland, Ruben Dias and Ilkay Gundogan – were all on the bench at kick-off.

New signing Rayan Ait-Nouri was an unused substitute, but Guardiola suggested that he will change almost his entire team for the next game, against Al Ain in Atlanta on Sunday.

“We had new players, players playing in different positions. Vitor Reis played a really good game, Nathan Ake was three, four or five months without playing, so many players we needed to give them minutes,” Guardiola said.

“The next game 10 new players (are) going to be there and we will try to win the next one.”

City will be without Rico Lewis due to suspension for the clash with Al Ain after he was sent off late on against Wydad.

If that was a source of frustration for the coach, Foden’s performance was encouraging as the England star scored the first goal and made the second.

“Obviously last season wasn’t the best for me so I put it in my head to start the season strong and I am happy today that I managed to score and get an assist and help the team win,” said Foden.

“Last season was a bit rough for all of us but it is about trying to go again this season, with the new signings to help us, and trying to win trophies again.”

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola received an honorary doctorate from the University of Manchester on Monday and used his acceptance speech to address the war in Gaza.

The war erupted after Hamas-led militants took 251 hostages and killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, in the October 7, 2023 attack. Israel’s military campaign has since killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to health authorities in Gaza.

“It’s so painful what we see in Gaza. It hurts my whole body,” Guardiola said. “It’s not about ideology. It’s not about whether I’m right, or you’re wrong. It’s just about the love of life, about the care of your neighbour.

Read Also: Int’l Friendly: NFF hails Abiodun on cash gifts to Falcons, Lionesses

“Maybe we think that we see the boys and girls of four years old being killed by the bomb or being killed at the hospital because it’s not a hospital anymore. It’s not our business.

“But be careful. The next four- or five-year-old kids will be ours. Sorry, but I see my kids, Maria, Marius and Valentina. When I see every morning since the nightmare started the infants in Gaza, and I’m so scared.”

Guardiola was recognised for his contribution to the city, including guiding his team to six Premier League titles in nine years with the club, along with his charitable work through his Guardiola Sala Foundation.

The 54-year-old Spaniard was presented with his honorary degree by the University’s Chancellor Nazir Afzal at Whitworth Hall.

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola said he’s planning to include Phil Foden in his squad for the FIFA Club World Cup despite accepting that midfielder needs a period of “rest.”

Foden, named the Premier League’s best player a year ago, has struggled for form this season. He will miss England’s fixtures against Andorra and Senegal in June after asking to be left out of Thomas Tuchel’s squad.

Read Also: NFF threatens match manipulators with lengthy ban

Guardiola has said the 24-year-old, who is dealing with an ankle injury, needs to rest. But the City boss said Foden is in line to be part of the group which travels to the United States for the Club World Cup.

“In principle, he will come to America,” Guardiola said. “We want to help him, that’s the most important thing. He needs rest and it’s going to happen now after Sunday. Step by step he is going to come back, that is what we want.

The FA Cup was not Manchester City’s top priority this season but now they are in a third straight final the club will go all out to win the trophy at Wembley this weekend, manager Pep Guardiola  has said.

City have had a “horrific season” in the words of striker Erling Haaland, with Guardiola’s side falling by the wayside in the Premier League title race while they were also eliminated in the Champions League knockout phase playoffs.

City are fourth in the Premier League and yet to secure Champions League qualification for next season and winning the FA Cup when they face Crystal Palace today  may not be enough to salvage their campaign.

“That is the problem right, the FA Cup now is not the first choice. Of course, we want it. Once we are here of course we want the trophy. It is massively important,” Guardiola told reporters.

“It was a disappointment last season (losing in the final to Manchester United). But I’m pretty sure we’ll perform well and we are going to compete against them.

“It’s the final of the FA Cup, it’s an honour and a privilege. Third time in a row being there and we have to perform well. We travel to London to win the title.”

Read Also: NFF to organize Coach Educators’ programme in June

Guardiola also praised Oliver Glasner’s Palace, who knocked out fellow Premier League sides Fulham and Aston Villa to reach the final.

Palace, who are 12th  in the league table, are seeking their first major trophy having fallen in the final in 1990 and 2016, losing to Manchester United on both occasions.

“It is a fantastic team. They have had a really good second part of the season. They have had more than a year with Oliver working with the same players,” Guardiola said.

“They are a threat because they have quality. (Striker Jean-Philippe) Mateta is strong and the quality in (Eberechi) Eze is obvious and of course the pace from (fellow forward Ismaila) Sarr … (Adam) Wharton is a really good holding midfielder.

“They are well structured defensively and their set-pieces are one of the best in the Premier League.”

Guardiola said City’s Spain midfielder Rodri is “much, much better” but he will wait for the doctors to give the all-clear as the 28-year-old has not played since rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament in September.

“When they tell me he is ready, he is going to start. We don’t want to take a risk and take a step back,” he added.

Pep Guardiola has said that qualifying for the Champions League would make Manchester City’s season “a big success.”

City, champions in the last four years, are fifth in the Premier League table with 10 games to go. Guardiola has had to deal with a number of injuries to key players, including missing Ballon d’Or winner Rodri since September.

The City boss believes, because of the issues he has faced, securing Champions League qualification would be a significant achievement.

“Qualification for the Champions League would be a big success but you have to win it,” Guardiola said. “I want to qualify for the Champions League. It will not be good [if City miss out] but I saw what happened with other teams in the past in the Premier League.

“Not being in the Champions League would be a problem but there are teams who didn’t qualify who have come back and are there.”

City could finish fifth and still qualify for the Champions League. The strong performances of English teams in UEFA competitions means the Premier League is on course to be awarded an extra Champions League place.

Read Also: NFF, NPFL salute Olarinoye as he clocks 70

It could offer a safety net to City, but Guardiola has said it won’t matter if his team cannot build a winning run between now and the end of the season.

“Whether there are five or six or seven [places], you have to win games,” he said.

“In sport, in knockout games sometimes details make the difference but in the Premier League over 38 games if you are not able to finish in the first four or five it is because we were not good enough.”

City are next in action against Brighton, who are sixth, at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday. They’re looking to bounce back from the 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest. Guardiola said after the game that his team had not been able to move the ball quickly enough and Rúben Dias has suggested part of the issue was a dry pitch at the City Ground.

“With the pitch dry it makes things a bit more difficult,” Dias said.

“Last season here, Fulham was again. It depends on the weather as well and good will from everyone to make the game fast.

“We’re still there, try to look for the spaces. They have a low block and we need to be as versatile as we can to look for the spaces. Because the spaces will be there one way or the other. Always looking to do something better.”

Pep Guardiola says Manchester City will embrace the “challenge” of tonight’s must-win Champions League clash against Club Brugge and is confident they will make the knockout stages.

The Premier League champions must beat last season’s Belgian league winners at the Etihad to progress to the play-off stage, involving teams ranked from ninth to 24th in the league phase.

The top eight teams automatically qualify for the round of 16, which takes place in March.

City endured a horrific run of just one win in 13 games in all competitions from October to December, which threatened to completely derail their season.

Guardiola’s men appear to have turned a corner in the Premier League, winning four of their past five games to climb back into the top four.

Read Also: Ex-NFF protocol officer decorated  with new NIS rank

But lingering problems were exposed last week as Paris Saint-Germain battled back from 2-0 down to inflict a damaging 4-2 defeat on the 2023 European champions.

Guardiola has never failed to reach the Champions League knockout stages in his career as a manager and he said Tuesday he was confident his side would progress.

 “It’s not a problem, it’s an opportunity, a challenge, and we will face it,” he told his pre-match press conference.

He added: “I expect a tough opponent. When a team is 20 games unbeaten (the run is 21) it is because they are good. There are no secrets about that.

 “They beat Aston Villa, (against) Juventus, Milan they played good. Celtic… they did really well. Different variations in the build-up. We have to read well what we have to do.

 “But every team – Manchester City included – has weaknesses. You have to find them and punish them.”

Guardiola appeared frustrated when quizzed on the potential consequences of an early exit from the Champions League.

City are presently 25^th  in the league table after just two wins in their seven games.

 “Of course, I’m not naive enough to know how important it is financially for the club to go through in this competition, but sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t,” he said. “But, of course, we want to try to go through, especially for sporting reasons.”

The 54-year-old Catalan said he had faith the pressure of the situation would bring out the best in his players.

“I know they want it, I know how focused they are, and I don’t have doubts that we will perform what we have to do to go through, but with football, you never know,” he said.

Norway midfielder Oscar Bobb is in contention to feature against Club Brugge for the first time since August but new signings Omar Marmoush, Vitor Reis and Abdukodir Khusanov are all ineligible.