Pep Guardiola has revealed he is snubbing the World Cup – to enjoy the tournament as an armchair fan with a glass of wine.
Guardiola revealed he has turned down the chance to travel to Qatar, in favour of working with his players who are not involved in the World Cup. The City boss will remain in Manchester to work with the players left behind, before embarking on a warm weather training camp to Abu Dhabi, home of owner Sheikh Mansour.
Those City players not involved at the World Cup include goal machine Erling Haaland and Riyad Mahrez, as well as a number of the club's academy stars. Guardiola said he is looking forward to watching the World Cup as a fan, rather than going to the tournament in any kind of working capacity.
"The best way to enjoy the World Cup matches is at home with red wine,” said Guardiola. "We will have one or two weeks off and then we will work here, maybe go to Abu Dhabi, maybe organise a friendly game.
“It's not definite, but we will train, come back on December 28th and be ready as much as possible for the return. We will spend three weeks here in the winter time in Manchester.
“Then take a break with good training sessions and good weather where our owners are there. It's not 100 percent confirmed, but we're going to try."
Guardiola is backing Argentina to win the World Cup, with City striker Julian Alvarez admitting his boss is tipping Lionel Scaloni's side to go all the way.
"Yeah, it came out when we were having a chat with team-mates," said Alvarez. "I don’t know if he said it with conviction. It was quite a while ago now.
"We’re on a good road but it’s a tough tournament, a World Cup. We believe in ourselves and I think we’re going to have a good tournament."
