Author: Amrit Santlani
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has demanded action from UEFA and FIFA over the grueling schedule, complaining about the lack of rest provided to his players. Days after completing the triple crown with City by beating Inter Milan in the Champions League final in Istanbul, many first team stars are expected to line up for their national teams on international duty.
The Catalan coach thinks his players have reached breaking point, as the UCL final was the 61st match of the season, and the players also took part in the FIFA World Cup in Qatar in the middle of the season.
In the UCL final, Kevin de Bruyne was injured, and he has been playing in pain for the last few weeks, and the Belgian will be sidelined for three months.
England trio John Stones, Jack Grealish and Phil Foden are set to join their teammates on Wednesday for the European qualifiers against Malta and North Macedonia. England manager Gareth Southgate has already stated that the trio will not play in the Malta match due to their recent exploits with City, but their season has been extended even further.
Three weeks later, the teams will start their pre-season and summer tours, and Guardiola has demanded a radical change from those in charge.
“Our players have international matches now,” said the two-time world champion.
“UEFA and FIFA, think about it. The Premier League ended two or three weeks ago, but now people have to come back. It’s too much” he added.
City also won the Premier League title and the FA Cup, thus becoming the second team after Manchester United to win the historic triple crown, and Guardiola revealed that he received a text message from the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson himself.
The three-time champions are due to play Bayern Munich and Atlético Madrid as part of their pre-season games from July 27, before starting next season against Arsenal in the Community Sheild, followed by the UEFA Super Cup final against Sevilla in August.