Jamie Carragher has fired back after a dig he received from Manchester City boss, Pep Guardiola, bringing up the club’s long list of FFP breaches after the manager took aim at pundits questioning whether his team have grown complacent.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of Man City‘s away fixture against Aston Villa on Wednesday night, the Catalan coach referenced pundits and commentators questioning whether his side has taken its foot off the gas after winning a treble and three Premier Leagues in a row.
Despite insisting he didn’t have anything to say about pundits and their criticism of City’s form, Guardiola then went into a lengthy answer to the interviewers’ question, stating that “he knows how hard it is to win four Premier League’s otherwise Gary Neville would have [but] he didn’t do it”.
Adding that maybe “[pundits] are able to see all the things I’m not able to see”, Pep then doubled down by saying that “not even him, not even Jamie Carragher who didn’t win [a league title] once, not even Micah Richards — they haven’t won four in a row”.
Pep Guardiola: "Not even Jamie Carragher, of course, because he didn't win [the #PL title] once… no one has won four Premier League's in a row!"
Pep’s dig at Carra was part of a six-minute response.
Whilst his pushback against pundits appeared to be nothing personal against Carragher, specifically, simply stating a fact that he never won the Premier League and was merely emphasising how hard it is to win so many back-to-back, the former Liverpool man didn’t let the jab go unreturned.
Nevertheless, Carragher did fire back by suggesting that he and his teammates at the time would have “probably won one if Liverpool were owned by a nation-state, and pushed the rules so far that the PL charged us 115 times!!”.
Regardless, Pep went on to insist that he believes his side “will win it again” and that the handful of uncharacteristic results up to this point in the season is simply because they have “won a lot”.
The 52-year-old went on to reiterate how hard it is to win consecutive league titles, let alone for on the bounce, adding that “no team in England has ever done it”.
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As for whether this little tiff between Pep and Carragher will turn into a prolonged beef of any kind as we head towards Christmas and the New Year, with Liverpool and the Blues neck and neck at the top of the table, we’ll just have to wait and see.
You can watch Guardiola’s press conference in full down below:
Featured Images — Sky Sports/BeaymanSports (via YouTube)
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Luxury Manchester gym Blok confirms permanent closure after weeks of uncertainty
Daisy Jackson
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure, weeks after the doors to the premium fitness facility mysteriously closed.
Around a fortnight ago, members began to arrive to their classes to find the gym on Ducie Street locked up and a forfeiture notice on the door – but at the time, Blok said that it was fighting to reopen.
Sadly, in an email sent to members today, its founder has confirmed that the studio is now permanently closed.
Blok – which has several very successful sites down in London – said that its relationship with its landlord has ‘broken down to a point where trust has been lost’.
The gym wrote that it’s been left with ‘no workable way forward’.
They said: “BLOK Manchester was a space built by our loyal and dedicated community. Whether you joined us for one class or one hundred, we are deeply grateful. You helped create something genuinely special in an incredible city.”
In the immediate future, they said they’ll be supporting the team of fantastic trainers who worked here, as well as looking after members.
Members will be contacted within a few hours with options and refunds owed.
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure. Credit: The Manc Group
CEO and founder Ed Stanbury said: “While this marks the end of a chapter, we don’t see it as the end of our story in Manchester. We’re already speaking with developers about potential future sites and remain committed to returning to the city when the time is right.
“Thank you for being part of our story so far. Let’s shape the future of wellness. The mission continues.”
Commenting on Blok’s Instagram post – its first in almost a fortnight – people have been sharing their sadness at the closure of its Manchester site.
One person wrote: “beautiful space, beautiful staff and beautiful community.”
Another said: “Sending love to all the instructors !! :(((( gutted”
Someone else commented: “THE BEST CLASSES. I’m gutted.”
Manchester City plotting spending spree ‘before’ Club World Cup
Danny Jones
Manchester City are set to embark on somewhat of a spending spree this summer transfer window as the club’s higher-ups are looking to get business done before the 2025 Club World Cup.
With FIFA’s intercontinental club competition set to get underway in mid-June, the Blues don’t have too long to welcome in new players, but Man City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has reiterated their urgency regarding recruitment.
Despite having brought in four new acquisitions in a very short space of time last season, the 50-year-old argued that he wasn’t completely happy with the extent and speed of their business.
Giving a lengthy interview this week, CFG‘s founding chairman has imposed an internal deadline ahead of the lucrative knockout competition.
Speaking with club media, Khaldoon recognised that while there were incomings in January of this year, he believes they “should have been more aggressive in some of the changes we needed to do, adding that he believes it “cost [them].”
“I can tell you today, we have clearly identified who exactly [the targets are], in what positions, and we have our clear number one option, our clear number two option”, he continues.
More importantly, he goes on to add: “We’ll go about our business, and it will be very clear, very swift. Our objective is to try to be ready with the new squad for the Club World Cup.”
He also suggested the flurry of activity this past January was not just atypical of the administration, but felt the squad fell into a crisis state with the number of injuries, insisting they “had to act.”
City have already been linked with a hugely talented and highly-rated European target in the wake of Kevin De Bruyne‘s departure and a lack of strength in depth in midfield.
An initial bid is said to have been received already and will likely be the first of many City summer signings.
He also insisted that the players who joined last season weren’t scattershot, emergency transfers (perhaps barring the resigning of İlkay Gündoğan) but were the start of the rebuild and “gives [fans] an idea of what’s coming this summer.”
Another player linked with a move to the Etihad Stadium is Lyon star Rayan Cherki, who scored in big moments during their Europa League run this year, registering 32 goal contributions across all competitions throughout the 24/25 campaign.
Who would you like to see added to Pep Guardiola’s side this summer, then, Man City fans?
You can watch Khaldoon Al Mubarak’s interview in full down below:
Danny Jones -
6th December 2023 
