Pep tells Man City: Reduce squad size or I'll quit

MANCHESTER, England -- Pep Guardiola said helium would alternatively permission Manchester City than person to enactment with a bloated squad adjacent season.

The City manager has begun to rebuild his squad aft the club's archetypal trophyless run since 2017.

But helium said Tuesday helium had told the nine that helium volition locomotion distant alternatively than oversee an oversized squad.

"I said to the nine I don't privation that. I don't privation to permission 5 oregon six players successful the tribune," Guardiola said aft the 3-1 win against Bournemouth. "I don't privation that. I volition quit. Make a shorter squad, I volition stay. It's intolerable for my psyche to springiness [leave] my players successful the tribune, that they cannot play."

Guardiola near James McAtee, Savinho and Rico Lewis retired of his squad for Tuesday's Premier League game. He had to marque likewise pugnacious calls for Saturday's FA Cup last nonaccomplishment against Crystal Palace.

He has traditionally liked to enactment with a smaller squad, but a spate of injuries this play -- including genu country for Rodri -- severely hampered City's rubric defense, which unraveled by Christmas.

City spent much than $200 cardinal successful January to effort to salvage the campaign, brining successful Omar Marmoush, Nico Gonzalez, Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis.

Guardiola is expected to marque large signings successful the offseason, with Kevin De Bruyne leaving arsenic a escaped cause and Kyle Walker besides apt to go, but has made it wide helium wants to support his squad numbers down.

"I don't privation to person 24, 25, 26 players erstwhile everyone is fit," helium said. "If I person injuries, unlucky. We person immoderate players for the academy and we bash it.

"[We] cannot prolong for the emotion of the club, the psyche of the team, make different transportation with each different that this play we mislaid it a bit."