Guardiola threatens to quit City if squad size not reduced with the Spaniard saying It’s impossible for my soul.
Guardiola threatens to leave Manchester City if the club do not reduce the size of the squad.
The head coach is upset that so many first-team players were left out of the squad for Tuesday night’s 3-1 victory over Bournemouth.
Savinho, James McAtee, Rico Lewis, and Abdukodir Khusanov had to watch as City won and rose to third place in the Premier League. Although it demonstrates the depth at Guardiola’s disposal, he has consistently favoured working with a more limited roster.
“I said to the club I don’t want that [a bigger squad],” Guardiola said. “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 tribune [stands] that they cannot play. Now it happened to add players immediately.
“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. 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.”
After several major injuries to important players, City spent over £200 million in January to help revitalise their season and add four players to boost competitiveness. While Jack Grealish’s future is uncertain and will be discussed at the end of the season, Kevin De Bruyne is one of those players who will undoubtedly leave when his contract ends in the summer.