Pep Guardiola has attributed Manchester City’s faltering title defence to the squad’s injury problems and, in particular, the absence of Rodri, asking “how many NBA titles did the Chicago Bulls win without Michael Jordan?”
Spain midfielder Rodri is unlikely to play again this season after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament against Arsenal in September – a setback that has deprived City of arguably their most influential player and the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner.
Since then, a raft of other players have missed time with various ailments, contributing to City’s wretched run of form that has seen them win just one of their last 10 games in all competitions.
“This is the problem. With Rodri, we knew it from the beginning. This season we’re playing without the Ballon d’or winner and the best player in England last season,” said Guardiola.
“Of course it’s difficult. The Chicago Bulls won six NBAs with Michael Jordan, right? Since Jordan retired, how many have they won?
“The moment we [the players] come back, we’ll be strong again.”
Derby day approaching 👊
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— Manchester City (@ManCity) December 12, 2024
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Too many games – Guardiola
Guardiola has been a longstanding critic of the hectic schedule handed to Europe’s leading clubs and he reiterated his belief that there are too many games being played.
“We have more games than ever in this calendar,” he said. “The number of injuries we’ve had has today made me reflect that you need a squad of 25-30 players.
“It will be more difficult financially for the club.
“In the summer, we will play the Club World Cup over three weeks and then the Premier League will start again.
“Maybe then we will have to have more depth to our squad. When people say, ‘what is the problem?’ The problem is the schedule.
“It’s not the players, it’s not the physios, it’s not the training, it’s not how they eat or how they rest. It’s the schedule.
“Sooner or later it will happen for all the clubs. This is the truth.”
City struggling for defenders to face United
The injuries show no sign of easing up ahead of Sunday’s Manchester derby, particularly in defensive areas.
Manuel Akanji is injured, as are John Stones and Nathan Ake, while Rico Lewis is suspended.
It leaves Guardiola with, potentially, just three fit, senior defenders – Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol – and a problem to solve.
He said: “I need players. We have three so let’s see what happens today and tomorrow. We will have to have a think about it.
“Maybe a winger has to play as a full-back or we play with five at the back where wing-backs are wingers. I don’t know. I’m thinking about what to do with our situation.”
Record revenues doesn’t mean huge transfer kitty
City today announced record revenues of £715million for the year ending June 30 but Guardiola insisted that doesn’t necessarily mean he will be given the green light to dip into the transfer market in January.
“What I want is my players back – the players that we have,” he said. “I want the squad that we had at the beginning of the season that were desperately competing.
“I said many times, this is the only regret I have, [that] I don’t have these players – not new ones.
“In the right moment, we will see. The fact that we have record revenue, which I must congratulate the club over, that doesn’t mean we have big, big resources to buy whatever we want.”
City head into the weekend in fourth position in the Premier League, eight points behind leaders Liverpool with the Merseysiders also having a game in hand.
