Manchester City’s request for a longer summer break following their participation in the Club World Cup has been rejected by the Premier League, leaving manager Pep Guardiola frustrated. The club will compete in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup in the United States, which will stretch their current season into mid-July. The tournament, which begins on June 15 and runs for 29 days, could severely shorten City’s recovery time before the start of the next Premier League season, and Guardiola was hoping for a delayed start to give his players time to recover. However, the Premier League has refused to grant any exceptions to the defending champions.
Guardiola expressed his dissatisfaction with the decision during a recent press conference, saying, “The Premier League say yes to us? No, absolutely not.” He continued by highlighting the uncertainty surrounding how his team will cope with the shortened break, adding, “I don’t know if we will play more games than the treble year [2022-23] before the States. Maybe we’ll play fewer games. In the end … the Premier League has not allowed us to postpone the first two games for our recovery. Thank you so much.”
Manchester City, who are joined in the Club World Cup by Chelsea, will likely face a highly congested schedule that could impact their players’ fitness. Guardiola acknowledged the challenge, expressing concern over how his squad would handle the lack of rest between the two campaigns. He explained, “They don’t postpone these games, so that will be the moment of ‘Oh, what do we do?’ I don’t have an answer right now because I’ve not been there before. I think we are going to take a decision with common sense. We will see how the players are, the schedule, and then we are going to decide.”
The Club World Cup presents additional complications as FIFA mandates that all participating teams must bring their strongest available squads to the 32-team tournament. Guardiola voiced his confusion regarding the definition of “strongest players,” particularly given that some key players may be struggling with injuries, fatigue, or personal challenges. He questioned how FIFA determines a player’s strength, stating, “What is the strongest players? Which ones? If FIFA would tell me, for them, which players are stronger than the other ones. I don’t understand that.”
Guardiola made it clear that his squad will travel to the United States for the full duration of the competition, but he insisted that he would manage his players based on their condition at the time, rather than following a predefined notion of who the strongest players are. “We’ll go with all the squad there, we don’t go for one game. I don’t know the competition right now; we don’t go for 11 players, we go for the whole squad. I don’t know how the selection that this player is stronger than the other one,” he said. “Maybe the strongest player for them is in a really bad condition for many reasons: personal, professional, niggles, injuries. And we are going to play other ones. I’m not going to say before the game which player to play. I will decide, that’s for sure.”
The Premier League’s decision to reject City’s request comes as part of a broader policy of not making exceptions for individual clubs, regardless of their participation in international tournaments. For City, this means that they will have to begin the 2025-26 season on the same schedule as all other teams, potentially with several key players still recovering from the Club World Cup. This adds to the complexity of managing a squad that is already regularly competing on multiple fronts, including the Premier League, Champions League, domestic cups, and international tournaments.
One player who will miss the immediate upcoming matches is Kevin De Bruyne, who continues to recover from a pelvic injury. Guardiola confirmed that De Bruyne will be absent for Saturday’s match against Fulham, and the Belgian international has also been ruled out of the international break this month. In addition, De Bruyne has requested to be omitted from Belgium’s Nations League games next month to focus on his recovery. Guardiola supported De Bruyne’s decision, stating, “It’s not a big issue, but it still doesn’t feel good. When you are not fit, recover because you will be fine here, and after you will be back better to the national team. That’s why Kevin, from my point of view, is the smartest, the wisest decision.”
City’s challenge, as highlighted by Guardiola, will be to navigate the demanding schedule while keeping their players fit and available. Guardiola’s remarks on De Bruyne’s situation underscore his broader approach to player management — prioritizing rest and recovery when necessary to ensure long-term fitness and performance. As City face the rigors of both domestic and international competitions, Guardiola’s ability to manage his squad effectively will be crucial.
While the Premier League’s refusal to grant Manchester City extra time off will undoubtedly create additional stress for Guardiola and his team, it also exemplifies the broader challenges that top clubs face when balancing domestic and international obligations. For a team like City, which is constantly competing at the highest level across multiple fronts, every decision regarding player selection, fitness, and recovery becomes magnified.
City’s participation in the Club World Cup adds yet another layer of complexity to an already demanding football calendar. The tournament’s expansion to 32 teams means more matches, travel, and potential fatigue, all of which could affect City’s performance in the following season. Guardiola’s comments suggest that the club will have to navigate these challenges carefully, making decisions based on the condition of their players and the demands of the schedule.
As the season progresses, it will be interesting to see how Guardiola manages this delicate balance, especially with a squad that will need to remain competitive in both the Premier League and European competitions.
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