Pep Guardiola has been vocal about his desire for a smaller squad for the upcoming season, threatening to resign if he is handed a large squad to choose from following the summer transfer market.
In the past few weeks, Guardiola has excluded numerous players from his matchday squad as a result of the return of more of his injured players. Mateo Kovacic, Rodri, and Nathan Ake were reinstated in the squad that defeated Bournemouth, necessitating Rico Lewis and James McAtee to sit out for the second consecutive game following their absence from the FA Cup final.
Savinho and Claudio Echeverri were also excluded from the matchday squad after participating in the cup final. Guardiola disclosed that he spent 45 minutes determining which players to eliminate from his 20-man roster.
The City manager has been so distressed by the decisions that he has informed the club that he does not wish to maintain a squad of this size for the upcoming season and is willing to risk another injury crisis similar to the one that hindered this campaign.
“I informed the club that I do not desire a larger squad.” I do not wish to leave five or six participants in the freezer. I am opposed to that. Late Tuesday evening, he declared, “I will resign.” “I will remain if they reduce the size of the squad.” It is impossible for my soul to provide my players in the tribune with an inability to perform.
“For a period of three to four months, we were unable to select 11 players due to a lack of defenders. It was a challenging situation.” Subsequently, individuals return; however, this cannot continue in the subsequent season. I am unable to train a total of 24 players, and when I make a selection, I must ensure that four, five, or six players remain at home in Manchester due to their inability to participate. This is not going to transpire. I informed the institution that I did not wish for that to occur.
When questioned whether this implies that summer departures are inevitable, Guardiola maintained that he is uncertain as to how his demands will be fulfilled. He responded, “It is a matter for the club.” “I am not interested in having 24, 25, or 26 players when all of them are in good health.” If I sustain injuries, it is unfortunate; however, we have athletes available for the academy, and we will utilise them.
“They are unable to maintain the emotional connection between the club and the team, which we have somewhat lost this season.” The athletes remain at home on a weekly basis. A player must be present to engage in a conflict between them in order to participate, and they must be the appropriate number. A significant number of injuries? It is unfortunate, but we must complete the task.
“Echeverri, for example, is incredibly good in small spaces when the team defends deep like Southampton and Crystal Palace. But Bournemouth is a more transitional team so he is still not ready to play these kind of games. Maybe he’s ready but I didn’t see him and didn’t realise.
“The previous game was other players and maybe on Sunday will be another one. It is a headache. Yesterday I spent more than 45 minutes with six players. Not one or two, six players were at home. I don’t like that.”
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