Manchester City are being punished for their success because of the amount of extra games that come with winning major trophies, says Pep Guardiola.
City kick off the season on Sunday in the Community Shield, less than two months after they won the Champions League final against Internazionale in Istanbul. After their game against Arsenal at Wembley they will face Burnley on Friday night before travelling to Athens for the European Super Cup against Sevilla.
In December, City will participate in the Club World Cup hosted by Saudi Arabia, where they will be expected to play two matches. “I think the new season is already pre-season,” Guardiola said. “You finish the season, recover two weeks and [have a] pre-season? Why? We didn’t lose anything.”
City’s most-used player, Rodri, played 68 matches for club and country last season, a level of exertion that takes a mental and physical toll. “But every year it’s getting worse and worse and it will be getting worse and I don’t know how it’s going to end, honestly,” Guardiola said.
“The problem is here [mental]. They are exhausted. Look already how many players are injured in the pre-season in bad conditions: humidity, hot, the pitches are not really good – especially in the States. But it is what it is. We have to adapt, adjust, but it’s not normal.”
Many of City’s players reported back on 12 July, a month and two days after their last competitive club match and many played two international fixtures after that. This season’s Champions League final takes place on 1 June with the European Championships starting less than two weeks later. At the end of the 2024-25 season there will be a 32-team Club World Cup in America.
In addition to the number of matches, it has been announced that officials will add on lengthy periods of stoppage time to stop time-wasting in matches. This tactic has been used in the men’s and women’s World Cup, with games regularly stretching beyond 100 minutes.
“Wasting time, from my point of view, is not going to be solved by adding 10 more minutes,” Guardiola said. “What happens if they continue to be slow? It’s more tiring for the players. It’s too much.”
Manchester City have bolstered their defensive options with the arrival of Josko Gvardiol. The Croatia centre-back has signed a five-year deal after a fee thought to be €90m (£77.6m) was agreed with RB Leipzig. Gvardiol is City’s second major signing of the summer, following the arrival of his compatriot, Mateo Kovacic, from Chelsea.
