Pep Guardiola has admitted that he does not know whether the next Premier League will be challenged by Manchester City by their club World Cup campaign or not.
The manager of England, Thomas Tuchel, recently said that the involvement of City and Chelsea at this summer's tournament in the United States would hand people like Liverpool and Arsenal a “huge advantage” in the title race.
Former Liverpool -Baas Jurgen Klopp has also described the event as “the worst idea ever implemented in football” because of concerns about the well -being of players.
Guardiola, however, it says that City – which is confronted with Al Hilal in a last 16 draw in Orlando on Monday evening (2 hours Tuesday UK) – aimed at rediscovering their best after a frustrating season 2024-25 and the prize claim.
“I try to relax, enjoy the days here and the good vibes we have, the competition and we try to win,” said Guardiola.
“The most important thing is to recover and find what we were in ourselves. That is my most important target in this tournament.
“I want them to feel that this is our way again to be competitive as we have been in eight of the past nine years.
“Let's see after what happens. Let's see what happens after the final. We will rest for the time that the Premier League allows us.
“Perhaps it will be a disaster in November, December or January, we are exhausted and the World Cup has destroyed us.
“I don't know, it's the first time in our lives that this happened. We will see when we will come back.”
'Teams complain about tournament because they are not here'
Guardiola says he can understand the position of his old rival Klopp, now head of Global Soccer for Red Bull, who had a team involved in the tournament in Salzburg.
Yet he suggested that people complain might be jealous.
During a press conference, Guardiola said: “I fought many, many times with Jurgen many times. I know where his idea comes from.
“I respect him, I would also defend his argument. At the same time, we are in a job as managers. We don't organize the competitions.
“As soon as we are here, we are proud. Many, many teams complain about these competitions because they are not here, otherwise they can enjoy being here.”
Pep not worried by weather -like delays
Weather problems have been a recurring problem in the tournament, both in terms of intense heat and thunder.
Chelsea's last-16 victory over Benfica On Saturday, almost two hours were suspended because of lightning nearby.
Guardiola said: “I am an extraordinary manager but to control lightning and thunder, I am not good enough!
“If so [suspended] Here the same reason as why they suspend the other, I will go inside and we will stay active and play again.
“It's not the ideal situation, but I grew up to understand that I don't have to worry about the situations that I can't control. So no problem.”
Sky Sports to show 215 Live PL games next season
From next season, the Premier League coverage of Sky Sports will increase from 128 games to at least 215 games that are exclusively live.
And 80 percent of all Premier League matches broadcast on television will be on Sky Sports next season.