Carragher: Club World Cup ‘could not be worse’ for Man City, Pep Guardiola hates it
Man City’s final chance at silverware to cap off a nightmare season is a major hindrance to the club and their manager, according to Jamie Carragher.
Some well below-par performances by their standards mean Pep Guardiola‘s side have long since dropped out of the Premier League title race.
They also failed to reach the latter stages of either the League Cup, and were eliminated in the first knockout round of the Champions League.
On Sunday (27 April), Man City will look to keep their hopes of a trophy alive when they face Nottingham Forest in an FA Cup semi final at Wembley.
After that, there will be another chance to win a trophy before the start of next season, in the Club World Cup over the summer, although questions have been asked about how much of a priority that will be.
Pep Guardiola questioned over Club World Cup interest
Man City are one of two English clubs, along with Chelsea, who are set to take part in the newly expanded format of the tournament this summer.
The event is set to feature 32 teams from around the World, and will take place in the USA from 14 June to 13 July.
If Guardiola’s side are to reach the final, or win the trophy, they will have to play seven extra games across the course of that campaign, albeit with a major financial boost.
There have already been suggestions that Man City and Chelsea fans will snub the Club World Cup, with tickets struggling to sell for some of the games involving the Premier League duo.
| Man City Club World Cup group stage fixtures | Date |
| Wydad AC | 18 June |
| Al Ain | 22 June |
| Juventus | 26 June |
Now, Carragher believes Guardiola also has no interest in the tournament given its demands, and would much prefer to focus on preparing to bounce back in the Premier League next season.
Writing about the outgoing champions’ hopes of reclaiming their title in the 2025/26 campaign in his column for the Telegraph, the former Liverpool defender said:
“The great unknown going into next season is whether the exertions of the Club World Cup will have a detrimental impact.
“Guardiola’s lack of enthusiasm for the competition could not be more obvious, and that is understandable.
“As he prepares the next step of City’s rebuild, there could not be a worse summer for him and his players to miss out on a much-needed break.”
Man City have bigger priorities this summer
Football Insider Verdict
After such a disappointing season by their standards, there are surely more important things to worry about at the Etihad than a tournament that is not generating much interest from their fans.
With key players such as Kevin De Bruyne on their way out, Man City began a squad rebuild in the January transfer window, that they will no doubt want to continue in the summer.
Being involved in an extended Club World Cup would be a distraction from that work which will be important to challenging for higher profile trophies such as the Premier League and Champions League.
Of course, Man City will also want to work key players such as Rodri back up to fitness after injury over the pre-season period, with the midfielder having missed most of this campaign.
Top scorer Erling Haaland is another who may need rehabilitating after being absent since the end of March.
A long tournament where games come in quick succession in difficult, warm conditions in America does not feel like the best situation for them to do that in.
As a result, you can understand why Guardiola may have little interest in this competition, so it will be intriguing to see how they approach it once the event gets underway.