Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola has stated that the squad needs to be reduced before the start of the upcoming season. Speaking before the club’s match against Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates in the Club World Cup, Guardiola said that he wants to win the Club World Cup before reducing the squad size. One of the reasons for this is to give players who are happy at the club the opportunity to leave if they have a large squad. He said that the main reason for wanting to reduce the squad is that many young players have been brought into the team, and with many experienced and older players already present, it’s not possible to keep all the players happy.
“Certainly, some may not get as many opportunities as they want. Then they will be disappointed later. Even if I’m disappointed, I don’t want my players to be disappointed. But if some players stay at the club, we may not be able to make everyone happy,” Guardiola said. He also mentioned that City currently has 30 players. However, after winning the Premier League for City four consecutive years, the coach of the team that had to go empty-handed in the past season said he wants 20 players.
“Then I can be sure the players will be happy. No player will have to sit out,” Guardiola said. There are talks that Galatasaray from Turkey is working on acquiring former captain Ilkay Gundogan from among City’s players. Guardiola did not confirm the rumored decision to sell him for 20 million euros. He said he doesn’t know any such information.
City has already let go of two team captains before the start of the upcoming season. They are defender Kyle Walker and midfielder Kevin De Bruyne. The 33-year-old De Bruyne has joined Napoli in Italy. Walker, who played the latter part of the season on loan for AC Milan in Italy, has been released to join any club he wishes.
