Sport
Pep Guardiola responds after Julián Álvarez comments on Manchester City playing time
While he assured media he's happy at the club, it did seem like a hint to his manager.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has responded after forward Julián Álvarez commented on his amount of playing time and potentially dropped a hint about his future at the Etihad.
Having just won his second Copa América with Argentina and now rolling straight into Paris 2024, Álvarez has still yet to return to training with the Man City first team, but the 24-year-old has opened up on what he hopes will happen when he returns to club football.
Speaking to American broadcaster DIRECTV Sports, the former River Plate striker admitted that whilst “there is a lot of talk”, his current focus is solely on the Olympics and that he feels “very good at City”, adding, “I played a lot of minutes”.
However, he did go on to confess that “maybe it’s annoying to be out in big games, players always want to help on the pitch”, adding, “But we will see after the Games. First, if I can, I will take a few days off. Then we will decide,” – a remark that has sparked some speculation online.
Not only did Álvarez get the transfer rumour mill churning – inadvertently or not – but it seems word travelled fast to his manager as well, as Pep addressed the situation whilst on City’s pre-season tour in the US.
Speaking to the media ahead of the two games against Barcelona and Chelsea this week, Guardiola recognised that the attacking talent “wants to play in important moments, but the other players [want that] too […] I read he has to think about it, so OK, think about it, and after that, he will inform us what he wants to do.”
Reiterating that has no desire to sell or replace him, he simply put the ball in the player’s court, stating: “Once he has finished thinking, his agent will call Txiki [Begiristain, Man City‘s sporting director], and we will see what happens.
You can see the clip from the press conference down below:
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Whether this was just a hint towards the Catalan coach in hopes of getting the nod for those most important games or a suggestion that he might look for a move elsewhere if his position in the squad doesn’t change, only time will tell.
That being said, having now played his moments in a treble-winning season, won even more back-to-back major tournaments with the World Cup and Copa América, not to mention looking to bring home an Olympic gold to boot, it’s fair to say he has experience on the biggest stage, even at such a young age.
It isn’t the first time questions over his amount of playing time and deployment off the bench have been questioned, with fellow compatriot and club legend Sergio Aguero even raising the issue last year, and now reports have suggested that Atlético Madrid have already expressed interest in signing him.
What do you think, Blues, does Álvarez deserve more minutes in the key fixtures, and would you keep him in the City squad for as long as possible, or should Pep let him move on if he wants to?
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Featured Images — Julián Álvarez (via Instagram)/Wikimedia Commons/pantkiewicz (via Flickr)
Sport
Bernardo Silva has confirmed he is leaving Manchester City at the end of the season
Danny Jones
After a couple of years of will he, won’t he, Manchester City star Bernardo Silva has now revealed he will be leaving at the end of the season.
While most supporters saw it coming from a mile off, it’s still a huge loss for the Blues.
Announcing his imminent departure on social media this Thursday, 16 April, the Man City midfielder will call it a day at the Etihad Stadium after the best part of the decade.
More importantly, he’s lifted virtually everything there is to win at a club level after signing from Monaco at the age of 22, and has been an instrumental part of the squad ever since he arrived.
Writing a lengthy and emotional post on his Instagram, 31-year-old Silva wrote: Cityzens, When I arrived 9 years ago, I was following a dream of a little boy, wanting to succeed in life, wanting to achieve great things.
“This city and this club gave me much more than that, much more than I ever hoped for. What we won and achieved together is a legacy that will forever be cherished in my heart. ‘The Centurions’, the domestic quadruple, the Treble, the ‘Four In A Row’ and much more… It wasn’t that bad
“In a few months, it’s time to say goodbye to the city where not only [did] we win so much as a football club, but also where I started my marriage and my family. From the bottom of my heart, Ines and Carlota, thank you!
“To the fans, your unconditional support throughout the years is something that I will never forget. My main goal as a player was to always play with passion so you guys could feel proud and well represented on the pitch. I hope you felt that every single game.
“I arrived as a Man City player, I leave as one more of you, a Man City supporter for life. Keep supporting this young team, and I’m pretty sure they will bring you a lot of new, fantastic memories in the future.
After more than four and a half centuries’ worth of appearances already, and a few more to come before the end of the 2025/26 campaign, he will no doubt go down as one of the all-time greats – and not just for City, but arguably the Premier League in general.
With 76 goals and 77 assists to his name, not to mention 19 trophies while wearing the shirt,
He signed off by adding: “To the club, Pep, the staff and all my teammates these 9 years, thank you for all the memories and for letting me be a part of this journey for so long.
“The atmosphere we created every day in the training ground made me feel at home and a part of a big family. Let’s enjoy together these last weeks and fight for what this season still brings us. Love you all,
Bernardo.”
As for Guardiola and co, they have already teased plans to give the Portuguese playmaker a proper send-off and have promised to work with the fans to deliver “a fitting tribute and farewell to a wonderful servant of Manchester City Football Club at the end of the season.”
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Featured Images — Aleksandr Veprev (via Wikimedia Commons)
Sport
Manchester City release new ‘The Decade Collection’ celebrating 10 years of Pep Guardiola
Danny Jones
Manchester City and PUMA have just released a new clothing line celebrating 10 seasons of Pep Guardiola at the club.
Simply entitled ‘The Decade Collection’, the new PUMA range revolves entirely around Pep as he marks his 10th anniversary in charge of the Blues, focusing on minimalistic style.
Guardiola has always been a trendy bloke, often being highlighted for his fashion choices on the touchline – even some of the questionable ones…
But with a much plainer approach this time around, the Pep clothing collab
Debuting the lifestyle drop on Wednesday, 15 April, Man City wrote on social media, “Ten seasons on the touchline. Ten seasons of setting the standard.
“Introducing the Puma Football Decade Collection with the Pep Team – celebrating Pep’s ten seasons as our manager and inspired by memorable moments from his tenure at the Club.”
While it’s unclear how much (if any) of these new clothes the Catalan coach has helped design or had influence on, but given its exclusive nature, you can expect it to sell out pretty quickly.
They go on to add: “Created to honour a defining chapter that reshaped the club’s modern identity, this exclusive collection is available in limited quantities.
Starting at £30 for the cheapest item – a ‘P’ logo baseball cap – the most expensive part of the collection clocks in at £110: his special anniversary edition ‘Majesty Low Decade’ PUMA trainers.
You can see some more examples of what we’ve already seen him wearing, and what we’ll no doubt see him in pitchside very soon, down below.
https://x.com/ManCity/status/2044347944988516522?s=20
Obviously, City has plenty of other brand partnerships when it comes to both official sports apparel and more casual clothing, many of which we’ve already seen the 55-year-old football manager wear, but you can almost guarantee he’ll be donning them for the coming fixtures.
You can see Man City x PUMA x Pep Guardiola ‘Decade Collection’ in full HERE.
Speaking of which, up next for Pep and co is what could prove to be THE big twist in this year’s Premier League campaign, with his squad of serial winners taking on league leaders Arsenal at home.
Not only did the Gunners’ surprise loss to Bournemouth last weekend help City close the gap on the top spot, but with them refinding their form ahead of hosting the title hopefuls at the Etihad Stadium, it all looks to be shifting back in their favour at the moment.
With seven games left, and one in hand compared to Arsenal, do you see them beating Mikel Arteta’s side to another trophy?
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Featured Images — Manchester City Football Club (publicity pictures)
Danny Jones -
30th July 2024 
