Guardiola’s Christmas Warning: Player Fitness & Weight Gain

The high level is all about the details. Weighty sometimes. Pep Guardiola, the demanding and meticulous manager of the Manchester City football team, knows this better than anyone. This is why he warned his players that they will be subject to a weigh-in after Christmas and the confectioners’ truce. Those who are overweight will be excluded from the group, the coach also threatened on Monday.

Guardiola weighed in on his team members, including Rayan Cherki, before the mini-break and “when they return on the 25th (December) I will check if they have gained kilos,” he said.

“I want to see how they will be after three days (parties). They can eat, but I want to control them,” he added.

“Forget football”

“A player who returns with three kilos more will stay in Manchester, he will not be traveling to Nottingham Forest” on December 27, he promised.

Guardiola, however, asked his players to “enjoy their family and forget about football” during the break to regain mental freshness.

Manchester City, quiet winner of West Ham on Saturday (3-0), is in second place in the Premier League, two small points behind leader Arsenal, after 17 days.

Erling Haaland, Phil Foden, Gianluig, Donnarumma or Rayan Cheki are ready.

Aiko Tanaka

Aiko Tanaka is a combat sports journalist and general sports reporter at Archysport. A former competitive judoka who represented Japan at the Asian Games, Aiko brings firsthand athletic experience to her coverage of judo, martial arts, and Olympic sports. Beyond combat sports, Aiko covers breaking sports news, major international events, and the stories that cut across disciplines — from doping scandals to governance issues to the business side of global sport. She is passionate about elevating the profile of underrepresented sports and athletes.

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