- Pep Guardiola will attempt to curtail his team talks after Man City were fined £2m
- The club was fined for 22 separate offences in two seasons
- He also commented on Enzo Maresca and gave an update on Erling Haaland’s fitness
Pep Guardiola says he wants to cut down on half-time talks after Manchester City were fined £2million by the Premier League for late kick-offs.
City were sanctioned for 22 separate breaches over the past two seasons.
It also meant they were almost three minutes late to resume the second half of their final game of the season against West Ham, when they were crowned champions at the Etihad Stadium.
Guardiola was asked about the fine ahead of a friendly against Chelsea in Columbus, Ohio. He said: ‘I just read it in the news. I would try to keep my half-time speeches shorter.’
Speaking about his former assistant Enzo Maresca who is now in charge of Chelsea, Guardiola said: “I’m really happy for him. We’ve had a special year together. But more than when he was together in the second team, he’s an incredible, lovely person. And his family too.
Pep Guardiola has revealed he will cut back on his half-time team talks, which have cost him dearly
Man City have been fined £2million for 22 separate breaches over the past two seasons
‘He’s done a really great job, unbelievable, at Leicester, he got promoted to the Premier League and now he’s in one of the top five, six teams in England.
“And I wish him the best, because he deserves it. Nice people deserve the best.
‘Being a manager is believing deeply in something, but really deeply, deeply, deeply. And no matter what the results are, I stick to my idea.
“And that’s why he believes in what he’s doing. And he’s going to have success. I don’t know how long, but he’s going to have it.”
On Erling Haaland’s fitness, he said: ‘He told me today that he woke up and felt much better. And hopefully he can play a few minutes tomorrow.’