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manchester City could lead to another confrontation with Premier League – this time over the next season’s start date.
City Manager pep guardiola says the league will not accede to the club’s request to postpone their first matches of the 2025–26 campaign due to their involvement in next summer’s Club World Cup.
The champions fear fatigue in their squad due to the heavy schedule this season, which could last until July 13 when they reach the final of FIFA’s expanded 32-team tournament in the United States.
This could leave them with just a four-week break for player holidays and pre-season preparations for the anticipated start of the Premier League, and potentially a shorter break if they are involved in the Community Shield.
Guardiola says inquiries about a possible delay for City have so far gone unheard and he does not expect that to change.
It comes at a time of strained relations between the club and the league as City faces a hearing on 115 charges of alleged rule-breaking, including failure to co-operate with an investigation.
Speaking at a press conference ahead of Saturday’s clash with fulhamGuardiola said: “The Premier League has not allowed us to postpone – and Chelsea, I think, like all the teams that will go to the World Cup – will have more recovery in the first two games. thank you so much! They don’t postpone these games.
The Premier League tells us yes? No, not at all. it’s not going to happen
pep guardiola
“I think the club had asked the Premier League, (for the first or second game), to postpone it for one or two, three weeks, in the middle of the week, followed by another week or two off Told to keep the World Cup.”
Asked to clarify whether the request had not been granted, Guardiola said: “Absolutely not. The Premier League tells us yes? No, not at all. it’s not going to happen.”
The Premier League has not commented, but the PA news agency understands that initial discussions have taken place over the possibility of postponing fixtures. These were informal in nature and no specific requests were made.
Although no outright refusal was made, the City was not given the impression that any such application would be successful.
For its part, the Premier League has been put in a difficult position by having the Club World Cup, in which Chelsea are involved, added to the calendar in what would normally be a fallow summer. In fact, it has posed challenges for all domestic leagues.
Delaying the start of the 2025–26 season is problematic as it will conclude with the next International World Cup. There are also fewer midweek dates available for rearranged matches following the recent expansion of European club competitions.
Guardiola has no doubt that his players will feel the effects of the season in the summer.
He said: “It (fatigue) is going to happen.
“I don’t know if we’re going to play triple the number of games a year, maybe we’ll play less games, but in the end, the big difference is when you finish the season and you (normally) go on vacation, You have to go to the States to play the World Cup. This is the moment we are going to fight for.”
fifa have indicated that clubs will be expected to take their strongest teams to the tournament.
Guardiola said: “We will go with the whole team but I don’t understand how (someone else says) this player is stronger than the other.
“I’m not going to tell (anyone else) before games which player to play. I will take a decision, that’s for sure.”