Guardiola admits club assessing transfers for next season after injuries (Full Presser part 2)

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Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola admits club assessing transfers for next season after their injury ravaged campaign  11/04/2025 embargoed section  CGA, Manchester, UK

Transcript

00:00Good afternoon. How are you?

00:01I'm good. You?

00:02I'm good, thank you.

00:03I'm happy to.

00:04I'm happy too.

00:06We are happy.

00:07We're all happy.

00:09You talked on Sunday afternoon about the treatment of Phil,

00:14and you talked a little about the fact that he wasn't the only player

00:18who didn't play particularly well against Manchester United.

00:22But Phil, he's double player of the year.

00:25Looking ahead, not the next couple of days,

00:28but looking ahead to next season,

00:30what can you do to lift him, to get him back to that level again?

00:33We will try, all of us, to help him.

00:35Absolutely.

00:36We will try.

00:38And do you talk to him about this personally?

00:42And his response?

00:44If the team will play better, they will play better.

00:48So it's not just, you know, the reason why he was not good

00:52is a hypothetical player that you can choose.

00:56Okay, we sell him.

00:58Problems are gone.

00:58It's not about that.

01:01So it's simply better, you know, the individual players live.

01:06There are a few players in the world that for himself can leave the team,

01:09and we don't have a few.

01:11I would say, mm-mm.

01:12So we have to be, as a team, understand what you have to do defensively,

01:16spirit, defensively, our patterns that we had,

01:21that in the past always were so precise,

01:25and then this season we struggled.

01:27The last game was a real example.

01:28So, and this is what I tried to recover in these seven games,

01:33plus the FA Cup, plus the World Cup, and after, of course, next season.

01:37Yeah.

01:38Yeah.

01:39Sound that quick?

01:40Thanks.

01:41Hi, Pep.

01:42After the derby, you were talking about the reason for the performance,

01:46maybe not being so good, was you need to move less.

01:50You say that after a few games over the years.

01:54Can you explain exactly what kind of things they have to be doing?

01:58It's so simple.

01:59When you move the ball, you move the opponent.

02:01And when you do more opponent, you create spaces to attack.

02:04And when that spaces to attack are not occupied for the right players

02:09in the right positions, you cannot attack good.

02:11And what are some of the reasons for them not being in the right position?

02:15Because they are moving beings.

02:16It happens.

02:16Maybe they understand the silly manager.

02:20They understand better.

02:21So it happened many times, and it happened.

02:24And maybe next games we do it perfectly.

02:27There is another point that it doesn't work that, listen,

02:30when I go to the press conference and the journalist ask me questions about that,

02:34it's difficult for all the managers because they need some to respond.

02:37Now I'm more relaxed.

02:38I reflect more.

02:39In that moment, it's more difficult.

02:40But I had the feeling in that moment why we didn't.

02:43Sometimes it's that reason.

02:44Sometimes we give away a lot of the goals to the opponents.

02:49We miss a lot of chances.

02:51There are a thousand million reasons.

02:53But even with that, I will tell you now, even we have applied a little bit better what I think,

02:59what the reason why, maybe we don't win neither.

03:01Or maybe we lose.

03:02So there are a lot of factors.

03:03But for our game, we're working for many years.

03:06So we try to move the opponent.

03:12It depends on the fan and the way we happen there.

03:15You have to attack in different spaces, maybe quicker and faster being in the position.

03:19And we were not.

03:20And that's all.

03:20A different topic.

03:22I'd like to ask about Nico Gonzalez and how you analyse his couple of months at City.

03:28Obviously, you started with that Newcastle game that was really good.

03:32But Bournemouth away from home, United away from home, not being in the team.

03:36I know with Spurs, you said he was taking off like a tactical thing, pushing up too much.

03:40How do you analyse the whole thing up until now?

03:42The impact for the new ones have been really good.

03:45Even Victor Reyes, for example, didn't play much.

03:47In the training, I'm impressed.

03:48So I think it's not easy when they come in an environment that the way we're playing,

03:54the results are not good.

03:55Of course, Omar, we cannot deny the impact it has in terms of goals.

03:59And Nico had played good.

04:02And I'm pretty sure when Rodri will come back just for mimetism in the training sessions,

04:07he will learn a lot.

04:07He's another guy who understands many things.

04:09And he will get it because he listens, he's so attention,

04:13he's incredible focusing, his world is football, football, football.

04:18And that is really important.

04:20And the times he played, Brighton, for example, the two goals,

04:24it was a transition.

04:26They overgained the ball and we could score.

04:27So I've done many, many good things.

04:29With the ball, it's a play, it has to move less.

04:32I don't like the holding midfielders move a lot,

04:34it has to be more calm in the position.

04:36But I'm pretty sure he will get it.

04:38He's come from many years and physicality and he want to learn.

04:42He learned quick.

04:44So it's going to happen.

04:45Is that part of the reason why he hasn't played in those away games?

04:48No.

04:49I decide for the player for experience and maybe know better all the patterns.

04:55And after it happens for United,

04:57you have a mind, okay, I want experienced players,

04:59know exactly what you have to do.

05:00And you know the position.

05:03I want to sometimes take a much responsibility with some players.

05:06That's all.

05:07But it's not against him because Jeremy has played awesome for many games recently.

05:11He didn't play against United.

05:14So it's not about against any players particularly.

05:18Hugo Vaiana has started officially this week.

05:25Have you had much time with him?

05:27Sorry?

05:27Have you had much time with him?

05:29Yeah.

05:30We talk.

05:32And obviously with Chiqui, you knew him.

05:35How do you go about kind of getting to know Hugo?

05:39Because it's such a key relationship between the two of you.

05:42No, but we compare the relationship.

05:44So with Chiqui, we are together since we played together in Barcelona.

05:47We were almost teenagers.

05:49So it's a life, I would say, we share it.

05:54But the two relationships never are the same.

05:57So, but I know, I hear it, and we experience it in a short time.

06:03It will be so easy to communicate and work together.

06:07So easy.

06:08In that terms, it's a perfect replacement.

06:12What are your early impressions of him?

06:14The way the vision, the football, the way we talk,

06:17the composer that I think is quite cheeky.

06:20It's not a stress.

06:21It's not like me, for example.

06:22So the balance is more calm.

06:24And hopefully he can express himself, you know.

06:29Always I ask him, so forget about what we have done.

06:31You know, we need your vision.

06:33You need your, you know, you don't come to follow just what you have done in the past.

06:37So let us talk what you see about the team.

06:40So many months is, you know, watching us.

06:44What do you think?

06:44What do we want to do better?

06:46What is your feeling?

06:47And so back and forth opinions, opinions, when they come up, the best opinions.

06:52So I don't want to be clapped with just as a manager all the time.

06:56No, it's not about that.

06:58And we never work about, you know.

07:00I rely a lot on my sport directors and they give me the teams or the players they believe

07:06is the best for the team.

07:07And as a manager, the staff, we have to lift them and, you know, do the best of them.

07:13But you said earlier that you were optimistic about finishing in the top five.

07:21What have you seen over the last few weeks that gives you that optimism?

07:25Some spirit is back.

07:28In some games, the moment was good.

07:30I don't know.

07:31But a manager spirit is there.

07:33But to sustain us, the chance is the spirit.

07:35The way the game we play, maybe we will struggle.

07:40But the way, the spirit has to be there.

07:44And we learn.

07:45We saw with incredible curiosity this Tuesday, Wednesday, Champions League games.

07:51And I know the rhythm and I know the spirit that they play.

07:53And this is what you have to do.

07:55Are you able to elaborate on the spirit from this season?

07:59What maybe you've not liked from the team?

08:02Because you'd always associate a Guardiola team and a City team with plenty of spirit

08:08and they go to the end.

08:09But you seem to be suggesting that that's not been the case.

08:15Listen, I say many times, there are a lot of reasons.

08:18But the main reason, main reason, main reason, main reason, we didn't have players.

08:22We have a lot of inches.

08:24And without that, it's impossible.

08:25Put in any sport collectively, the important players in basketball and wherever,

08:28the important players don't play.

08:30I'm not the same.

08:31We cannot be the same.

08:32And we cannot rotate.

08:33They cannot compete each other.

08:36They cannot, you know.

08:37And in a certain moment, we need to be justified.

08:40We don't have legs.

08:41We have energy.

08:42Because it happened in the period where it was October, November, December, January,

08:46we'll have a lot of...

08:47Sorry.

08:49I just read.

08:50And every...

08:51And every game, every three days.

08:54So that was the reason.

08:55I know they wanted it, but they could not.

08:57I'll just ask a very quick one.

09:00Have you got any more injury problems?

09:03Right now, no.

09:08No.

09:09My feelings helped for tomorrow.

09:12For the injury I had in Ultra 4.

09:16But it's doubt.

09:17So the rest, the rest, except Erling, Manu, and John, and Nathan.

09:24The other one, okay.

09:26I saw my world for this guy.

09:27Hi, Pat.

09:28You mentioned...

09:29Brody.

09:29Sorry.

09:33It's quite good, huh?

09:34Yeah.

09:35Yeah?

09:37You will see when they will be back.

09:40You will see.

09:41Hi, Pat.

09:42You mentioned energy there.

09:44Do you think there's more energy going into the final few games than in previous seasons

09:47where you've had more games, do you feel that the players are actually fresh than they have

09:52been in previous years?

09:54Sorry, sorry.

09:54I was distracted.

09:56In previous seasons, you'd have a lot more games because of the Champions League.

09:59Yeah.

10:00Do you feel that actually the players are fresher now?

10:02You said there's been a lack of energy at times this season.

10:04Do you think with this running, actually, you are benefiting from that?

10:08I would love to be in Champions League, but I've said many times we're miles away to compete

10:13against Dan Leeds from Europe this season.

10:15So always we have been, but this season no.

10:16So now it's a reality.

10:17You have more long ways.

10:19The guys are training good.

10:20Hopefully they can, you know, it's a final every single game.

10:23Now it's not much complicated.

10:25Now we have 15, 20 games, but now it's seven games left.

10:28So it's a final every single game.

10:30You have to win a lot of games to qualify because Newcastle, just one game a week

10:35and the quality of Aston Villa and, you know, all the teams are involved, Chelsea and Nottingham.

10:42So Fulham is there.

10:43So there are a lot, a lot of, yeah, teams that they will be there and you have to win games.

10:50So it's not much complicated than that.

10:52So you want to be in Champions League next season and leave the Tuesday Wednesday with the elite,

10:56you have to win almost all the games.

10:59It's not much with a tough schedule because we cannot say Crystal Palace and after Goodison Park and playing really good Everton again.

11:05And I was impressed with the rhythm they played against Arsenal the last game and after Aston Villa.

11:12So, yeah, it's what it is.

11:14So accept the challenge.

11:16You say you have to win almost all your games, you think, to get into the Champions League then.

11:20Do you have a points tally in your mind?

11:22If you win all the games?

11:24You say that you think you'll need to win almost all the games to get into the Champions League.

11:27Do you have a points tally in mind?

11:29How many points?

11:30No, no.

11:32With 21 we'll be there.

11:34That's for sure.

11:37Thank you guys.

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