“You’re a team full of fat players”: Ex-Manchester City player reveals Pep Guardiola’s scathing assessment when he joined the club
Former Manchester City player Gael Clichy has revealed how Pep Guardiola lashed out at the players upon joining the club in 2016.
The Spanish manager had been preparing for his move to England, which gave him time to decide on a working formula for the team. According to Clichy, Guardiola did not hold back his thoughts, as he provided a rather scathing assessment of the players early on. He told them (via SPORT):
"I know that I have been coming here for a year and I have been watching you. You are a team full of fat players."
In an interview with The Coaches' Voice, Clichy went on to share Pep Guardiola's rigorous rules around training at Manchester City, saying:
"First, his two-kilo rule. If you weighed two kilos more than what he considered your maximum weight, you didn't train. I saw players who didn't train for two weeks."
It seems to have worked quite well for the Cityzens overall, with Guardiola eventually molding a team that played fluently with his tactics. He has won the Premier League five times with City and looks on course to win it for the sixth time. He has also won two FA Cups and four League Cups.
Apart from his dominance in England, he has secured continental wins with Manchester City. He led them to the UEFA Champions League trophy, the UEFA Super Cup, and the FIFA Club World Cup in 2023.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola warns against dropping points in Premier League title race
The Cityzens are on the verge of winning their fourth consecutive Premier League title this season. However, they will need to win their remaining games to ensure they snatch it away from Arsenal, who are sitting at the top of the table.
City have a game in hand, which could see them sit two points ahead of the Gunners if both teams win all their games. Pep Guardiola spoke about Arsenal after the match against Nottingham Forest on Sunday, April 28. He said (via The Guardian):
“We prefer they lose, we cannot control what they do. There are four games left, I don’t think they are going to lose any points, so we know exactly what we have to do.”
However, Guardiola won't have goalkeeper Ederson to depend on between the sticks, as the Brazilian has an injured shoulder. The manager added:
“It doesn’t look good. We will see tomorrow with the doctor.”
Even without their star goalkeeper, Manchester City remain capable of securing the Premier League title.