Guardiola threatens to quit Man City if squad size is not reduced

A large number of first-team players were not included in City's matchday squad for their 3-1 victory over Bournemouth on Tuesday, with Guardiola unhappy at leaving so many players out.

He said the situation was "impossible for my soul", with Abdukodir Khusanov, Savinho, James McAtee, Claudio Echeverri and Rico Lewis all missing the cut.

"I said to the club I don't want that. I don't want to leave five or six players in the freezer. I don't want that. I will quit. Make a shorter squad, I will stay," he said, as quoted by BBC Sport.

"It's impossible for my soul to tell my players in the stands that they cannot play. Maybe [for] three, four months we couldn't select 11 players, we didn't have defenders, it was so difficult. After, people came back, but next season, it cannot be like that.

"As a manager I cannot train 24 players and every time I select I have to have four, five, six to stay in Manchester at home because they cannot play. This is not going to happen. I said to the club, I don't want that."

Thank you, @KevinDeBruyne pic.twitter.com/L2ZFrr0HsN

— Manchester City (@ManCity) May 20, 2025

Khusanov, Omar Marmoush, Nico Gonzalez and Vitor Reis all joined the club in January as they spent over £200million on rejuvenating the squad amid a disappointing season.

Kevin De Bruyne is the only confirmed summer departure thus far, while Jack Grealish has not started a Premier League fixture since April 2 and his future is also in question.

Guardiola, meanwhile, signed a new contract in November to keep him at the club until 2027.

When asked if his opinion meant that more outgoings would happen in the off-season, he said: "It is a question for the club.

I don't want to have 24, 25, 26 players when everyone is fit. If I have injuries, unlucky, we have some players for the academy and we do it."