Guardiola Apologizes To Man City Player On Overweight Comments
Pep Guardiola has issued a belated apology to Kalvin Phillips for saying the player was overweight on returning from World Cup duty with England back in December 2022
Joy Kalu 
Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola, has apologized to Kalvin Phillips for saying the midfielder is overweight.
Guardiola publicly made the comments after Phillips returned from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
The former Bayern Munich boss was explaining why Phillips had been left out of his squad for a Carabao Cup fourth-round tie against Liverpool.
Phillips gave an interview this month in which he admitted Guardiola’s comments had “a big knock on my confidence” and revealed his family had been particularly unhappy after the subsequent backlash.
“He was right to do so but there are different ways to go about it,” said the 28-year-old. “It was just a misunderstanding and I think he was very frustrated with me coming back 1.5kg over my weight target.”
Ahead of Tuesday’s Premier League clash with Brentford, Guardiola said: “I’m sorry.
“I do apologise to him. I’m so sorry.”
Guardiola also revealed he spoke to the 28-year-old, who is currently att West Ham on loan last month, about the issue.
Phillips was a £42m signing for City from Leeds in July 2022 and had been a mainstay in Gareth Southgate’s England squad before his struggles in Manchester.
