Pep Guardiola says Manchester City’s rivals want the club “wiped off the face of the Earth” over their 115 Premier League charges.
The much-anticipated hearing into the charges over alleged financial irregularities began in London on Monday, sparking a wave of comments relating to potential punishments for City if they are found guilty, including relegation from the Premier League and expulsion from all competitions.
Speaking ahead of City’s clash with Arsenal on Sunday, Guardiola was discussing pragmatism in football when he drifted off topic to address some of the feelings towards the club among their rivals.
“Sometimes it’s sun, sometimes it’s rain,” he said about the nature of a team’s performance. “You can have a bad season and with some performances people say, ‘Ah, it’s a disgrace, it’s a disaster, it’s unacceptable’.
“But no. During 90 minutes, one team can be better.
“I am sorry to say but I always want to defend my club — especially in these modern days.
“It’s like everyone expects us to be not just relegated, they want us to disappear off the face off the earth.
“I would say have had many better days than our opponents — and that’s why we win a lot. It’s not complicated.”
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Guardiola also outlined his idea of what pragmatism means; as opposed to the classic British definition involving parking the bus to stop a team from scoring, the City manager wants to achieve the same outcome but by keeping the ball.
“For 95 minutes the opponent has to defend in their box, this is what I want,” he said. “Do you know why? Because the ball is far, far, far away from our keeper. When the ball is closer to my goal, now I am trembling.
“I said many times for nine years, I would (accept) to be set back for a long, long, time and after that make one transition to score a goal. I swear to God, I would do it. I would do it. I want to win desperately.”
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(Naomi Baker/Getty Images)
