Man City's Guardiola demands slimmer squad for next season

Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola has urged the club to reduce the size of the first team squad or he will consider leaving for the good of his "soul" as he hates to leave players in the stands.

Guardiola made the remarks after Tuesday night's 3-1 win at home to Bournemouth thanks to goals from Omar Marmoush, Bernardo Silva and Nico Gonzalez. The win lifted City to third in the Premier League and it needs just a point from next weekend's visit to play Fulham to assure a place in next season's Champions League.

Pep Guardiola looks on during Manchester City's 2023 UEFA Super Cup against Sevilla in Piraeus, Greece, Aug. 16, 2023. (Photo by Panagiotis Moschandreou/Xinhua)

Tuesday's win came with players such as James McAtee, Rico Lewis and Abdukodir Khusanov, Savinho and Claudio Echeverri all watching from the stands. Some could say that shows the depth of talent available for Guardiola, but the coach clearly views things differently.

"I said to the club I don't want that; I don't want to leave five or six players in the freezer. I don't want that. I will quit. Make a shorter squad, I will stay."

"It's impossible for my soul to have my players in the tribune - that they cannot play," he said.

"As a manager I cannot train 24 players and every time I select, I have to have four, five, six stay in Manchester at home because they cannot play. This is not going to happen. I said to the club, I don't want that," he continued.

Tuesday night saw Spain international midfielder Rodri return after missing nearly all of the season after a knee operation, and Guardiola admitted that injuries to defenders such as Ruben Dias and John Stones had made things difficult this season.

"It was so difficult but next season it cannot be like that," insisted the coach.