Man City can close circle with Club World Cup win – Guardiola،
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia – Pep Guardiola has challenged his Manchester City players to “complete a small circle” and win a string of trophies under his leadership with the Club World Cup.
City have won the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, FA Cup, League Cup, Super Cup and Community Shield since Guardiola took over as manager in 2016.
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All that's missing is the Club World Cup, which they can win this week in Saudi Arabia.
City begin with a semi-final against Japanese side Urawa Red Diamonds at the King Abdullah Sport City Stadium on Tuesday before a potential final on Friday.
“We want to win it,” Guardiola said in a press conference on Monday.
“It's a trophy we don't have. It's a chance to complete a little circle, to win everything we could do. Maybe we don't get another chance, maybe yes. In the Premier League we always have a game in the game.”
City arrived in Saudi Arabia on the back of a disappointing run of just three wins in their last eight games in all competitions.
The 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday left Guardiola's side fourth in the table, five points behind leaders Arsenal, but the Club World Cup gives them the chance to forget the Premier League for a week and get away from Manchester's winter weather.
Kevin De Bruyne, who has not played since the opening weekend of the season due to a hamstring injury, trained with the team on Monday evening but Erling Haaland was absent while he continues to recover from a foot problem.
“The weather is a dream,” Guardiola said.
“We have it in December, we're not used to it where we live in the UK. It's really nice weather.
“It's a different competition. When we come back to the UK to face Everton it will be completely different. We would prefer better results, but with the exception of Villa the performance was excellent.”
This year's Club World Cup will be the last of its kind before an expanded version of the tournament begins in 2025 in the United States. The new version will feature 32 clubs – City have already qualified alongside Premier League rivals Chelsea – and the winning team will play seven matches.
“I think FIFA has made a decision and all clubs support this decision,” Guardiola said.
“I'm part of the clubs. I'm not against new competitions. I'm against the lack of time to recover between years. That's what I'm complaining about. For me, it doesn't matter playing every three days, six days, seven days, it's okay.
“But it’s really hard to finish the season and in three weeks we’ll have to start again.”
Meanwhile, City were fined £120,000 after their players surrounded referee Simon Hooper during the 3-3 draw with Tottenham following his decision not to award an advantage when Jack Grealish appeared having scored on goal in the last minutes.
An FA statement released on Monday said: “Manchester City FC have admitted they failed to ensure their players did not behave inappropriately in the 94th minute.”
