Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola has threatened to leave the football club if he does not have a smaller number of players available this summer.
City beat Bournemouth 3-1 last night, and the 20-man squad was without several players, including Abdukodir Husanov, Savinj, James McCarty, Claudio Echeverria and Rick Lewis.
Despite having a large number of players available, the Spanish coach said he wants a smaller team next season.
"I told the club I don't want that. I don't want to leave five or six players on the ice. I don't want that. I'll leave. Make a smaller team, I'll stay. It's impossible for my soul to tell the players they can't play," Guardiola said, according to the BBC.
Guardiola added that it is difficult to constantly leave players out of the squad for matches.
"Maybe for three, four months we couldn't pick 11 players, we didn't have defenders, it was so difficult. After that, people came back, but next season it can't be like that. As a coach I can't coach 24 players, and every time I have to leave four, five, six at home in Manchester because they can't play. That's not going to happen. I told the club, I don't want that," he said.
City spent more than £200 million in January to bring in Husanov, Omar Marmus, Nick Gonzalez and Vitor Reyes, and Echeverri also arrived at the Etihad after a loan spell at River Plate.
The only player who is certain to leave the club this summer is Kevin De Bruyne, while there is speculation that Jack Grealish could also leave. He last started in the Premier League on April 2nd.
Asked if this means that more departures are inevitable, Guardiola said that is a question for the club.
"I don't want to have 24, 25, 26 players when everyone is healthy. If there are injuries, unfortunately, we have some players from the academy and we will do that," the 54-year-old coach said.
Guardiola said that a large team is unsustainable and that "for the soul of the team" it is important for his players to create a new bond with each other, "which they have lost a little this season."
All Premier League clubs can field 25 players in their squads, but not all of them can play. Manchester City's website lists 28 first-team players, with four players on loan.
Guardiola started the 2023/2024 season with 20 senior players.
In comparison to City, Chelsea's website states that 31 players are in the first team and 21 players are on loan, Brighton and Tottenham each have 29 players, and Wolverhampton have 30.
Among the clubs with smaller squads are Arsenal with 24 and Liverpool, Aston Villa, Everton and Nottingham Forest with 25 players each.
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