‘All Premier League clubs want Man City punished’ – Every word from part two of Pep Guardiola’s pre-Brentford press conference | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola has admitted that he agrees with La Liga president Javier Tebas, following the claim that all Premier League clubs want Manchester City punished.

The latest comments from the outspoken critic of the Etihad Stadium organisation come as widespread reports have now revealed that Manchester City’s battle with the Premier League over the illusive 115 charges of alleged financial rule breaches will commence on Monday.

That coincides with the intensifying of Manchester City’s fixture calendar, and no doubt both Pep Guardiola and his players will remain firmly focussed on the task at hand on the field, with three competitions to be contests across the coming seven matches.

This weekend sees the return of the English top-flight, whilst next week will welcome back the UEFA Champions League in its brand new League Phase format. The following week will then welcome back the Carabao Cup at the third round stage.

Speaking ahead of Manchester City’s return to Premier League action against Brentford on Saturday afternoon, here is every single word from part two of Pep Guardiola’s pre-match press conference from Friday afternoon!

On England’s international matches

“I didn’t watch the first game, I saw the second one. I saw Jack (Grealish) really well in the position behind the striker, more of a central position. And Rico (Lewis) played on the left, but played more inside, because he’s an intelligent player.

“I think both played good, John (Stones) also played good minutes in the second game. Yeah, very pleased, they came back with no injuries, fit, and yeah, good.”

On Jack Grealish in the No.10 role

“Yeah, he can play (there). We know it. Yeah.”

On Rico Lewis playing at left-back

“If we need Rico to go up and down from the left and crosses from the left, he’s not good. But if he has to play more in a central position, short passes, and attack more in central positions, he’s really good.”

On Kevin De Bruyne’s post-Belgium comments – chance to speak to him

“No. I saw him really happy yesterday in training over these two days. I saw him really, really well, but I didn’t speak about that.”

On Manchester City’s Oasis-inspired fourth kit

“It was a good design. Apart from being a great, unbelievable musician, I think he’s a good designer as well. The kit is marvellous, it’s so beautiful, the colours and everything. It looks like it’s destiny, right?

The moment that Oasis is back, he creates this fourth kit for our fans, for ourselves. So yeah, the destiny was there, together.”

On playing the guitar

“I don’t think so. If you see the pictures of (me with) the guitar, don’t think about that I was playing. Not at all!”

On whether the cumulative effect of more games across a season will reduce the quality of football being played in the top games towards the end of a season

“I don’t know. Hopefully not. I don’t know about the Club World Cup, I’ve not thought about it for one second, like the future is far, far away in that time. I don’t know. Apparently when you are fresh, it’s much better.

“That’s why today in the training sessions it’s nothing, it’s come up to say hi and laugh a little bit, and prepare for the next game. That’s why these weeks was so important to try and select the team, it’s just to learn and understand what is going well or wrong, and understand that.

“But you cannot apply, you cannot train, now maybe a little bit more, but when you’re in February, March, April, or maybe December, January, February, the schedule is terrible. In that situation, it’s just arriving with energy for the game. It’s what I’ve learned.

“When you are in a club that plays a lot of competitions, just keep, keep, keep the energy until the moment of the game. It’s not interested in the day before training good, or the day after, because you need the energy for 95 minutes that we’re going to play and this is what I think.

“For the quality, for less injuries, no injuries, I would love no, but honestly I don’t know the consequences or impact on injuries or performance. Honestly, I don’t know.”

On whether he senses that his players believe the fixture schedule situation is getting worse

“We played on Wednesday against Real Madrid in the quarter-final of the Champions League, extra-time, and why did we not play on Sunday (in the FA Cup semi-final)? And the broadcaster said, ‘No it’s because it’s more audience, more ratings, audience’, no it was completely the opposite.

“United, against a Championship team in Coventry that was amazing, they had more audience. If the game is good, the people will watch it. So why could we not play on Sunday?! This is what is difficult for me to understand.

“And they said, ‘Ah we have to defend our product’, the broadcasters. I don’t defend my product, I defend my club and my players, these are the things that are difficult for me to understand. It’s why?! Why?!

“Now the problem is Tuesday against Watford, it’s a problem of schedule, there’s no more days. A week is seven days, we cannot create eight days a week, nine days a week, no, that is not going to happen, just seven days.

“So you have to fix all the games and the schedule is so tight, a lot of games, so it’s impossible to handle it. It’s just go for it, that’s why Bernardo was (angry after Chelsea in the 2024 FA Cup semi-final), me, all of us, because we were absolutely destroyed.

“I said before the game, ‘You are sad, right? We are tired? Yeah’, we are not going to change that feeling. We went through against Madrid, no we could not do it, we are disappointed, and you need time to process that defeat, to process everything. Then you play against Chelsea!

“You go there and you don’t give me one more day, why? Why not? Give us one more day, why not? It was the same for them, but that’s why I said that next season it’s going to happen the same. One day we will decide and they will not think about it. But it is what it is.”

On Javier Tebas’ comments

“Oh yeah? Yeah, maybe he’s right. No, for the fact that we play against Premier League teams and they want us to be sanctioned, that’s for sure. I agree with Tebas for the first time, hopefully the last. I am pretty sure I am in agreement with that.

“So that’s why I said that Mr Tebas and the Premier League teams, wait! No independent panel (yet), that is the justice, it’s there, in the modern democracy countries. So wait for the decision. It’s not much more complicated than that.

“But I don’t know if he’s a lawyer or all the Premier League teams are lawyers. So what I ask is that; wait! It happened with UEFA and every time, so if we did something wrong, we believe we have not done anything wrong, so we’ll go to the independent panel and we are going to wait.”

On whether the captaincy vote has happened

“No, not yet. We are on our way. They decide if they want to vote or not vote, we will see in the next days and we’ll know it.”

On whether he votes

“No, no, no, no. Don’t make me this compromise.”

On how Jack Grealish has changed/developed/improved at Manchester City

“It’s a question for him. I think he’s an exceptional player at Aston Villa, and he’s an exceptional player here. I think he made a half, half good first season, the second was unbelievable, excellent season, last season was not good, and this season start, apart from the niggles, really good. So hopefully he can do a good season.”

On how he chooses a player from another position to play in the pockets – like Rico Lewis

“The quality that they have. There are players that can play inside, and players that cannot play inside. It depends on the qualities and the skills that they have. Not because I want one player there, and they have no skills to be there. People feel more comfortable being outside, so it depends on the quality of the players.”