Guardiola on Alvarez, Man Utd, 48-week fixture calendar and England
- Published
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Community Shield encounter with Manchester United at Wembley.
Here are the main lines from his press conference:
On the imminent departure of Julian Alvarez to Atletico Madrid: "He's incredibly loved by the team but he wants to leave and have a new challenge. Atletico is a top club in Spain and Europe and when they suggested to me that he wanted to leave, imagine he stays here if he wants to leave? Both clubs are happy with the agreement."
The Community Shield is a rematch of May's FA Cup final, won by United. Guardiola said: "It is important, it's a final against United but a part of it is to try to refine ourselves, step by step after a break for most of the players."
On the return of his players after a busy summer of international football: "We would like to give them more time but we gave them a lot. All the players came back and the England players and Rodri will come back next week."
On a 48-week season: "The best thing to do is don't think about the schedule. Think about the next training session and step by step, otherwise it's 'oh, what is going to happen?'
Guardiola was asked what it would take for him to manage England: "I have to decide what I want to do in my life. If I want to continue here, take a break, train national teams or not. Right now I am here and as you arrive at the competitions my energy rises again so I am fully excited for the season."