Manchester City are currently preparing for the FIFA Club World Cup.
City are one of two Premier League teams taking part in the new version of the tournament this summer, alongside Chelsea, with Pep Guardiola’s men set to fly out to the United States on Thursday ahead of their opening game against Wydad AC on June 18.
There has been a lot of controversy around the tournament, given the sheer number of games that players are being asked to play before the revised competition was introduced, with Nigel Reo-Coker stating that the Club World Cup will affect Man City heading into the new Premier League season.
Tension has been present between Guardiola and the Man City board over the tournament as both sides have different views on it.
Man City want Pep Guardiola to take the FIFA Club World Cup seriously
If Man City go all the way in the tournament, they won’t finish up until July 13, which gives them very little time to prepare and rest ahead of the 2025/26 campaign.
There has also been little time for City’s stars to rest before the FIFA Club World Cup due to the international break, and it remains to be seen if Guardiola takes the opening games seriously.
ESPN reporter Mark Ogden has stated that tension has emerged between Man City’s hierarchy and Guardiola over the tournament, as he believes the legendary coach is not too bothered about it at present.
“The way City have treated it, even in terms of sending out club officials for site visits for training grounds, you know, it’s not something that’s been done on the hop,” Ogden said on ESPN’s The Football Reporters Podcast.
“Pep made a comment a couple of months ago about, ‘Oh, I want my players to go and enjoy playing golf’. I’m sure there’s an element of truth in that, but it’s very, very much focused on winning it.
“I think there’s a tension at City between the hierarchy who want to do well in this competition and want to represent City, because we know that Man City have got a lot of catching up to do still on the historic clubs, the Liverpools, Man United, Barça, Bayern Munich.
“They want to be there to kind of plant their flag. But Pep has made so many comments about this tournament, which suggests that he’s not that bothered.”
Manuel Akanji recently stated that the Man City dressing are not happy about having to play at the Club World Cup, which is not the mindset fans will want to hear ahead of the tournament.
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Man City’s squad for the FIFA Club World Cup
Man City revealed their 27-man squad for the FIFA Club World Cup on Wednesday, and as expected, Guardiola left Jack Grealish out.
The legendary coach included all of the Manchester club’s new signings, with Rayan Cherki, Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Ait-Nouri, and Marcus Bettinelli all set to play their part in America.
Goalkeepers: Ederson, Ortega Moreno, Bettinelli
Defenders: Dias, Stones, Ake, Ait-Nouri, Reis, Gvardiol, Akanji, Khusanov, Lewis
Midfielders: Reijnders, Doku, Nico, Rodri, Gundogan, Bernardo, Savinho, Nunes, Cherki, Echeverri, Foden, Bobb, O’Reilly
Forwards: Marmoush, Haaland
Only time will tell how seriously Guardiola will take the Club World Cup, which will likely increase the deeper the Premier League club get into the tournament.
