Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has expressed his frustration over the Premier League’s refusal to postpone the club’s opening matches of the 2025-26 season to help ease the burden on his players.
City will be competing in the expanded 32-team Club World Cup next summer, with the final set to take place on 13 July at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. This leaves City with only a few weeks to recover before the new Premier League season kicks off in August.
City had hoped for a delayed start to the season, similar to the one granted in the 2020-21 campaign when they and Manchester United were allowed to begin a week later due to their extended European commitments.
Guardiola said the club had requested that the first two or three games of the Premier League season be postponed, but the Premier League denied the request.
“The Premier League has not allowed us to postpone the first two games for our recovery,” Guardiola remarked sarcastically. “Thank you so much.”
Despite his comments, the BBC has learned that no formal request for postponement has been made by the club.
There have been informal discussions between City and Premier League officials, but the league has reportedly indicated that it cannot accommodate the request due to an already congested international calendar.
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FIFA Club World Cup
FIFA has also mandated that clubs involved in the Club World Cup use their strongest available squads.
With City and Chelsea both competing in the Club World Cup, Guardiola now faces a scheduling dilemma, as the tournament will significantly shorten the recovery period for his squad ahead of the new domestic season.
“They won’t postpone these games so there will be a moment of ‘what do we do?'” Guardiola added. “I don’t have an answer right now but we are going to take a decision with common sense.”
The Premier League has yet to confirm the official start date for the 2025-26 season, though it is expected to begin in early August, further complicating City’s preparations for another grueling campaign.
