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Manchester City’s masterful tactician Pep Guardiola has laid down a stunning ultimatum to club executives that could rock the Premier League champions to their core: reduce his bloated squad or lose the manager who has delivered 14 trophies in eight remarkable seasons.
Breaking Point After Bournemouth
Following City’s comfortable 3-1 victory over Bournemouth on Tuesday—their final home fixture of the 2024/25 campaign—Guardiola revealed his growing frustration at having to leave multiple players out of matchday squads. No fewer than five senior professionals—Rico Lewis, Savinho, Abdukodir Khusanov, James McAtee and Claudio Echeverri—were omitted despite being fit and available.
The situation has clearly taken an emotional toll on the 54-year-old Catalan.
“I said to the club I don’t want that,” Guardiola declared emphatically in his post-match comments. “I don’t want to leave five or six players in the freezer. I don’t want that. I will quit. Make a shorter squad, I will stay.”
The Human Cost Behind City’s Depth
While squad depth has been crucial during City’s injury-plagued patches this season, Guardiola’s comments reflect a deeply personal struggle with the human consequences of managing an oversized roster.
“It’s impossible for my soul to tell my players in the tribune that they cannot play,” he explained, revealing a rarely-seen vulnerability. “Maybe for three, four months we couldn’t select 11 players, we didn’t have defenders, it was so difficult. After, people came back, but next season it cannot be like that.”
His stance couldn’t be clearer: “As a manager I cannot train 24 players and every time I select I have to have four, five, six stay in Manchester at home because they cannot play. This is not going to happen. I said to the club, I don’t want that.”
What Happens Next?
City’s hierarchy now faces a crucial summer balancing act. The club must weigh Guardiola’s ultimatum against their ambitions across multiple competitions, all while navigating Financial Fair Play considerations.
With just one Premier League match remaining this season, City sit atop the table with 89 points—but Guardiola’s bombshell creates an unexpected distraction at the campaign’s most critical juncture.
For a manager who has transformed English football with his meticulous attention to detail and tactical innovation, this surprising ultimatum demonstrates that even for football’s most celebrated perfectionist, the human element remains paramount.
The clock is now ticking on what could become the summer’s most consequential boardroom showdown.
“I don’t want to have 24, 25, 26 players when everyone is fit. If I have injuries, unlucky, we have some players for the academy and we do it. [We] cannot sustain for the emotion of the club, the soul of the team, [to] create another connection with each other that this season we lost it a bit.”
Jack Grealish is among the players who could be sold, having fallen down the pecking order at the Etihad. Grealish has made just seven Premier League starts so far this season and has been linked with an exit.
Jack Grealish faces an uncertain Manchester City future
When asked about the 29-year-old’s future, Guardiola said: “We didn’t talk, I didn’t talk with him. People don’t believe me, but these things belong to the agents and the club and Txiki [Begiristain], and in this case Hugo [Viana] as well.
“Both will decide. What is going to happen will happen, but he has to come back to start to play minutes again. It’s not only Jack. There is not one player in my locker room, and I think all the locker rooms around the world, that is happy when they do not play.
“When the team is winning and winning, they have to figure out how everything happens – but they are not happy. They are here to play and, when they don’t play, they are not satisfied. That is the normal position in all the clubs.”
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