Pep Guardiola thinks Man City will begin their Premier League title defence undercooked – with so many stars still yet to return for pre-season
Pep Guardiola has claimed that it is impossible to properly prepare for Manchester City’s latest title defence and expects him to start the season with a lack of preparation.
City take on Barcelona on Tuesday night in their third friendly in the United States but will be without 13 stars who are also out after the European Championship.
Guardiola has let his England internationals – Phil Foden, John Stones and Kyle Walker – and Rodri decide for themselves when they return to training.
Many are expected to opt to return in the days leading up to Manchester’s Community Shield derby on August 10, but Guardiola’s offer will last until that week if they are still struggling with burnout.
“We arrive late, but not only against Manchester United, but also against Chelsea and Ipswich,” Guardiola said, pointing to their opening Premier League games.
Pep Guardiola believes his Manchester City team are unprepared for their title defence
“We’re coming late. It’s about trying not to drop too many points, trying to compete well. We don’t have players because they have to rest.
‘If the big bosses and all the institutions like FIFA, UEFA and the Premier League don’t think about the players, then the managers have to think about them, otherwise they die. It’s too much. That’s why three weeks or a month are needed, but the competition is there and you have to adapt.’
Given City’s participation in next summer’s expanded Club World Cup, their campaign is likely to last a full year. Guardiola is aware of how to manage the burden on his squad.
City are used to starting slowly and recovering slowly, and the Catalan predicts the same this time around.
Guardiola has allowed his England internationals and Rodri to return to training whenever they want
“There is no solution, and there will be no solution, because there is no intention to find a solution,” he added.
‘The clubs have to travel to show our brand around the world, to show other continents and places our players, and we have to adapt.
“We would have liked to have had a good preparation, but that is impossible. National teams deserve to play and all institutions, such as FIFA, UEFA and local competitions, want to defend their product and organise matches.
“We have a good selection when everyone comes back. We have three, four, five interesting (young) players in case we need them. We will do what we did in previous seasons when we had success with the same calendar as this year.”