Pep Guardiola has admitted that he was unable to grant his Manchester City players a special request despite their treble-winning heroics.
City enjoyed a historic 2022/23 campaign, winning the Champions League for the first time, a third consecutive Premier League title and the FA Cup.
A result of going all the way in three competitions was that Guardiola’s side played 61 matches last season, with many first-team members featuring in more than 50.
That amount of football inevitably takes its toll, with players either exhausted, picking up injuries or both.
City’s season ended later than most, and many of their stars then had international commitments to deal with before beginning their summer breaks.
Guardiola rejects request
The players still had a few weeks off, but Guardiola has shared that they wanted more.
“Many players asked me to give them more days off to come back later [in pre-season],” Guardiola told reporters ahead of City’s Premier League opener against Burnley.
“I can’t. We had to go to Asia to prepare, it’s what the club needs to pay our salaries, and after we had a Community Shield. We had to come back earlier.”
Lack of rest and a hectic schedule are unfortunate by-products of being an incredibly successful team.
It’s usually not until the start of the Champions League group stages in September that City’s schedule gets more congested, but this year there are extra considerations.
After Friday’s league opener, City will travel to Athens to take on Sevilla in the UEFA Super Cup on Wednesday.
72 hours later they will host Newcastle at the Etihad Stadium in their first home league game of the season.
In December Guardiola will have to factor the FIFA Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia into his thinking when deciding who to rest and how best to protect his players.
