Pep Guardiola criticises FIFA’s Club World Cup rules
Manchester City boss questions body for requiring each team to use the “best players” it has available to ensure football’s biggest stars take part in the competition
Pep Guardiola has spoken out against one of the rules set out by FIFA for the new Club World Cup , which will take place in the summer of 2025. The competition, which will add an extra month to the long season, requires teams to field the “best squad” they have at their disposal to ensure that football’s biggest stars take part.
This is precisely what the Manchester City coach disagrees with, making it clear that he intends to rotate the team to combat physical fatigue. “I’m the one who decides who plays,” the coach assured.
“What constitutes the ‘strongest team’? Which players are those? Can you tell me which players are stronger than the others?”, the Spaniard began by asking in the press conference ahead of the match against Fulham .
«I don’t understand [the rule]. We’re going there with the whole squad, we’re not just going to play one game, right? I don’t know the competition itself at the moment, but we’re not going to go with just eleven players», he added, before continuing to question the process of choosing the «best player».
“I don’t understand how this choice works. Does ‘stronger’ mean ‘in better shape’? Maybe the best player for them is in a bad condition [to play] for a number of reasons, whether professional, physical or otherwise. It’s not them who are going to decide who plays before the match. It’s me who decides,” Guardiola stressed.
Still at the same conference, the Spaniard was asked if he felt he needed to defend and promote the club, a question to which he answered affirmatively, adding that the best way to do so was by “winning games”.
“We can’t get it wrong because I’m here, I’m the coach, the person at the club who speaks the most through all the media, to send messages to the fans. And, of course, I’m going to defend my club. The best way to do that is by doing our job in the best way possible. Everyone who works here has their own responsibility,” he stressed.
