Phil Foden, Dominik Szoboszlai respond to Josko Gvardiol’s message at Man City
Man City and Liverpool stars have reacted to Josko Gvardiol’s new message as the defender prepares for his Club World Cup debut.
The Croatian remained on the bench for the Citizens’ opening 2-0 win over Wydad Casablanca on Wednesday, 18 June, but the game was far from simple at the Lincoln Financial Field Stadium.
Rico Lewis was wrongfully sent off for Man City at the end of a back-and-forth clash between the Premier League giants and Moroccan minnows, showcasing the drama and excitement of the tournament.
Phil Foden opened the scoring after just two minutes, with Jeremy Doku pouncing at the back post just before the half-time whistle to double the lead for Pep Guardiola‘s side.
While Gvardiol was unable to get any minutes on the pitch following the end of the difficult 2024/25 campaign, he is preparing for City’s upcoming clash against Al-Ain on Monday, 23 June.
Josko Gvardiol working hard for Man City starting spot
Taking to Instagram (19 June), Gvardiol wrote: “No days off!” with a fire emoji, with Savinho responding with love hearts amid likes from several Man City teammates.
Claudio Echeverri, Ederson, Nathan Ake, Ruben Dias, and Doku were all joined by Foden, who has been tipped to join Arsenal, and Liverpool’s Dominik Szoboszlai in liking the post.
Pep Guardiola’s side to aim for Club World Cup title this summer
Football Insider verdict
The Citizens went without silverware for the first time since the season the manager first arrived in England, ending a near-decade of winning trophies, putting Guardiola under pressure from Man City fans.
With Rayan Ait-Nouri, Rayan Cherki, and Tijjani Reijnders all added to the squad ahead of the Club World Cup, the Catalan clearly means business ahead of the 2025/26 campaign.
Of course, multiple signings likely mean multiple exits in addition to Kevin De Bruyne, and Jack Grealish is one player certain to leave Man City over the coming weeks.
John Stones, Ederson, and Mateo Kovacic have all been linked with exits, and given Guardiola’s threats to walk away over too big a squad, some of these players will need to find new clubs.
Securing Champions League football was the target last season, a huge change from a Premier League title charge, and runs in Europe and the Carabao Cup never lifted off the ground.
Guardiola is clearly very keen to make amends for last season, and given the frustration of fans at the Etihad, he is going the right way about it this summer.