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Pep Guardiola has made it clear he is unwilling to continue as Manchester City manager if the club persists with an inflated squad heading into next season. Following City’s 3-1 victory over Bournemouth, Guardiola expressed deep frustration at the burden of having to exclude several players from his matchday selection.
“I said to the club I don’t want that. I don’t want to leave five or six players in the tribune,” Guardiola said. “I don’t want that. I will quit. Make a shorter squad, I will stay. It’s impossible for my soul to give [leave] my players in the tribune, that they cannot play.”
The comments come in the wake of City’s first season without a trophy since 2017, a disappointing campaign derailed by injuries and inconsistency. Guardiola’s rebuilding efforts have already begun, but he insists that a leaner squad is non-negotiable.
Though the manager has traditionally operated with a smaller, tight-knit group, this season’s injury woes — notably Rodri’s extended absence after knee surgery — left City short-handed at times. In response, the club spent over $200 million in the January transfer window, bringing in Omar Marmoush, Nico Gonzalez, Abdukodir Khusanov, and Vitor Reis to bolster the squad.
But despite those reinforcements, Guardiola is adamant about maintaining a manageable roster moving forward.
“I don’t want to have 24, 25, 26 players when everyone is fit,” he said. “If I have injuries, unlucky. We have some players for the academy and we do it.
“[We] cannot sustain for the emotion of the club, the soul of the team, create another connection with each other that this season we lost it a bit.”
“I said to the club I don’t want that [a bigger squad],” he emphasized. “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.”
City now face a crucial offseason, with several exits likely and Guardiola’s warning leaving the club under pressure to strike the right balance — or risk losing their most successful manager.
Featured Image Credit: Pexels / Yoohaina Edwards, Instagram / @mancity
