Pep Guardiola arrived on English shores in the summer of 2016, preparing to take over from previous Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini.
The Spaniard inherited a talented squad that had finished fourth in the Premier League table during 2015-16, beaten to the title by Leicester City.
City chiefs sought out the man widely regarded as the world's best coach and put him to work in Manchester. The rest, as they say, is history.
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Pep Guardiola axed three overweight players on first day of Man City training
Pep Guardiola, Manager of Manchester City on the side line during the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester City at Molineux on August 16, 2025 in Wolverhampton, England.
(Image credit: Neal Simpson/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)
Recalling that time, ex-City full-back Gael Clichy remembers Guardiola's exacting standards and how players were under no illusions straight away as to what the Champions League winner would deem acceptable.
Guardiola has commented publicly on players' weight before, most notably Kalvin Phillips, who arrived from Leeds United in the summer of 2022.
Kalvin Phillips broke into the England side earlier this season following fine form at Leeds.
Kalvin Phillips on England duty, 2021
Clichy says Guardiola banished three major first-team players from the group on day one of City's pre-season training ahead of the 2016-17 campaign.
“We all knew the reputation Pep [Guardiola] came with when he came to the club and I think you sort of expect to win things with him in charge because that’s what he’s done wherever he’s been,” the Frenchman said, via BetMGM.
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“He was so different and he might have been unique but every player would sit there and listen to him.
“I think we all thought that he had said a lot and it was the time to back it up because we’d heard about some of things he’d done, particularly around players being overweight, but we sort of wanted proof of it.
Manchester City's honours under Pep Guardiola
Premier League: 2017–18, 2018–19, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24
FA Cup: 2018–19, 2022–23; runner-up: 2023–24, 2024–25
EFL Cup: 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21
FA Community Shield: 2018, 2019, 2024
UEFA Champions League: 2022–23; runner-up: 2020–21
UEFA Super Cup: 2023
FIFA Club World Cup: 2023
“We knew there were players in the squad who were too heavy and we were almost waiting to see what would happen and then on the first day of training three players were out of the team – Samir Nasri, Yaya Toure and Kevin De Bruyne,” Clichy revealed
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Nasri would not last long at City under Guardiola, playing just once during the first half of the season before heading on loan to LaLiga side Sevilla.
Gael Clichy, Manchester City
Gael Clichy, Manchester City(Image credit: PA Images)
At the end of Guardiola's first season in charge, Nasri left for Antalyaspor in Turkey, before returning to England a year later with West Ham United, although that spell was especially short-lived.
Nasri would finish his career with Belgian club Anderlecht in 2020.
As for Toure, the Ivorian international was known to have had a strained relationship with Guardiola at Camp Nou. Whilst he still played regularly in Guardiola's first campaign, his second season under the exacting manager at City was to be his last.
De Bruyne, on the other hand, went on to become a City legend, playing over 400 times and scoring in excess of 100 goals.