UK supermarket ‘bans’ Manchester City players following Pep Guardiola press conference

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Pep warns of players coming back fatty after Christmas dinner

In a somewhat surprising but nevertheless amusing headline, Manchester City players have seemingly been banned from UK supermarket Iceland this Christmas.

No, as daft as it might sound, we’ve got a quote from the frozen food chain and everything.

With the Man City squad being given an added little reprieve when it comes to training this year, since their rivals over in the red half of the city are the only Premier League side playing on Boxing Day, they have an extra day off before getting back on the pitch this Saturday, 27 December.

Set to face Nottingham Forest on the road at the City Ground, it could be a potentially tricky away game, so they need every advantage possible to come away with the points and possibly claim that top spot before the end of the year, which includes fitness – and, more specifically in this case, weight.

Yes, following manager Pep Guardiola’s press conference after their 3-0 win over West Ham, in which he warned his players against packing on the pounds over Christmas, Iceland have confirmed that City stars won’t be allowed through the door.

We’re not sure how much frozen festive food is allowed on the diet sheet around the Etihad Campus to begin with, but still.

Sharing an official press release, an Iceland spokesperson said: “With Pep keeping such a close eye on his players’ Christmas calories, we thought it was only right to do our bit to help support him and get the best result for local fans. 

“Our festive desserts are designed to be indulgent, over-the-top and impossible to resist […] They’re perfect for seasonal celebrations, but probably not ideal if you’ve got a post-Christmas weigh-in and an important away trip on the line.”

To be fair, we’ve cracked into that Bailey’s crème brûlée early before, and you don’t want to do anything other than lie down after it…

In case you missed Pep’s post-match presser this past weekend, the scrupulous Catalan coach acknowledged that while all of his players made weight on the Friday, he “will be there controlling how many kilos come up” this Christmas.

Urging them to show some restraint and avoid coming back “fatty”, he said they can obviously eat some of the holiday favourites around the dinner table, but that he still has to “make a selection [of] 27 against Nottingham Forest.”

Put simply, Guardiola said: “Imagine one player, and now he’s perfect, but he will arrive with three kilos more. He will [stay] in Manchester; he will not travel to Nottingham Forest, that’s for sure.” 

You can watch his press conference in full down below.

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Featured Images — Royalty-free (via PickPic)/Beanyman Sports (screenshot via YouTube)

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