Pep Guardiola concedes he does not know if Manchester City’s next Premier League challenge will be “destroyed” by their Club World Cup campaign or not.
England manager Thomas Tuchel recently said the involvement of City and Chelsea in this summer’s tournament in the United States would hand the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal a “huge advantage” in the title race.
Former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has also described the event as “the worst idea ever implemented in football” because of concerns over player welfare.
Guardiola, however, insists City – who face Al-Hilal in a last-16 tie in Orlando on Monday night (2am Tuesday UK) – are focused on rediscovering their best after a frustrating 2024-25 season and claiming the prize.
The City manager said: “I try to relax, enjoy the days here and the good vibes that we have, the competition and we try to win it.
“The most important thing is to recover and find within ourselves what we were. That’s my main target in this tournament.
“I want them to feel that this is our path again to be competitive like we have been in eight of the last nine years.
“After this, let’s see what happens. Let’s see what happens after the final. We will rest for the time the Premier League allow us.
“Maybe in November, December or January it will be a disaster, we are exhausted and the World Cup has destroyed us.
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“I don’t know, it’s the first time in our lives that this has happened. We will see when we come back.”
Guardiola says he can understand the viewpoint of his old rival Klopp, now head of global soccer for Red Bull, who had a team involved in the tournament in Salzburg.
Yet he suggested people complaining might be jealous.
Speaking at a press conference, Guardiola said: “I fought a lot with Jurgen many, many times. I know where his idea comes from.
“I respect him, I would defend his argument as well. At the same time, as managers, we are in a job. We don’t organise the competitions.
“Once we are here, we are proud. Many, many teams complain about these competitions because they are not here, otherwise they might love being here.”
Weather problems have been a recurring issue in the tournament both in terms of intense heat and thunderstorms.
Chelsea’s last-16 victory over Benfica on Saturday was suspended for almost two hours due to lightning in the vicinity.
Guardiola said: “I am an extraordinary manager but to control lightning and thunder, still I am not good enough!
“If it is (suspended) here the same reason as why they suspend the other one, I will go inside and we will continue to be active and play again.
“It is not the ideal situation but I grew up to understand not to be worried about the situations that I can’t control. So no problem.”
