Pep Guardiola has been speaking on the eve of Manchester City's Club World Cup last-16 clash against Al-Hilal
Pep Guardiola is relishing the challenge at the Club World Cup
Pep Guardiola is relishing the challenge at the Club World Cup(Image: The Associated Press)
Pep Guardiola has admitted uncertainty over whether Manchester City's Premier League title bid will be "destroyed" by their Club World Cup participation.
England boss Thomas Tuchel recently suggested that City and Chelsea's participation in the summer tournament in the United States could give rivals like Liverpool and Arsenal a "huge advantage" in the title race.
Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has slammed the competition as "the worst idea ever implemented in football" citing player welfare concerns.
Despite this, Guardiola is determined to see City, who are set to play Al-Hilal in a last-16 match in Orlando on Monday night (2am Tuesday UK), bounce back from a lacklustre 2024-25 season and secure the trophy.
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"I try to relax, enjoy the days here and the good vibes that we have, the competition and we try to win it," Guardiola said.
"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. I don't know, it's the first time in our lives that this has happened. We will see when we come back."
Guardiola has expressed his understanding of Klopp's perspective, now that the latter is Red Bull's head of global soccer and had a team in the tournament with Salzburg.
However, he hinted that those voicing complaints might be doing so out of envy.
"I fought a lot with Jurgen many, many times. I know where his idea comes from," Guardiola added.
"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."
The tournament has been plagued by weather issues, including severe heat and thunderstorms.
The disruption caused by the weather was evident when Chelsea's last-16 match against Benfica on Saturday was halted for nearly two hours due to nearby lightning.
Guardiola joked: "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."