Man City manager Pep Guardiola offered some remarkably candid remarks during Friday’s press conference, saying, “We don’t deserve a bonus this season.”
Speaking ahead of his side’s FA Cup quarter-final with Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Sunday, Pep’s brutally honest assessment was in response to a question concerning the Club World Cup prize money.
The revamped competition has come under scrutiny from some sectors of the game, seen as the latest opportunity to plow money into the biggest clubs and maintain the status quo by some fans.
Thirty-two teams will flock to the United States to partake in the out-of-season festivities in January, with an eyewatering $1 billion prize pot announced by FIFA.
The winner will receive $125 million of the mammoth prize pot, with those making deep runs into the competition also set to benefit.
Speaking on the potential of winning such a prize, Guardiola said: “We don’t deserve it this season.
“We don’t deserve a bonus this season. The bonus if we win is for the club. Managers, staff, players, we don’t deserve it. Not even a watch.”
Those comments come on the back of a revealing interview earlier this month, in which Guardiola made his feelings clear by suggesting the club will not be going all out to win in America.
“They told me the golf courses are nice in America. If my back allows it, I’ll play.
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Referring to the already arduous season, Guardiola said: “We are going to try to try to enjoy that experience. After 11 [months], I am not thinking about bringing the players there to spend hours in their room thinking about the next game.
“They are going to train but I will let them free. Of course, they have to behave well or they will be in trouble but you have to have fun and play the games as best as possible for this new experience.”
Lionel Messi will captain Inter Miami at the showpiece event, which will also boast names such as Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior, Harry Kane, Erling Haaland and many more star names.
The month-long event all but eliminates an off-season break for the games’ top players, many of whom are already shouldering a heavy workload.
Ironically, the next line of questioning at Friday’s press conference was about the availability of injured players and the fitness of those returning from international duty, such as Ederson.
Man City’s relatively disastrous form at stages of this season brought about new lows for Guardiola, who until this season had never lost five successive games in his managerial career.
City have progressed through the quarter-finals in seven of the previous eight seasons, but if they were to bow out the competition this weekend, it would mark the second time in the Spaniard’s career that he’s failed to capture a major trophy.
His first season in charge of the Citizens was also a disappointing one, exiting the Carabao Cup and Champions League early before surrendering a lead to lose to Arsenal in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.
Bournemouth will play host to Man City at 16:30 on Sunday.