Rob Dawson, CorrespondentJan 25, 2024, 09:27 AM ET
Pep Guardiola has suggested Aleksander Ceferin should know better than to pass judgement on Manchester City after the UEFA president claimed Europe’s governing body were right to ban the club from European competition in 2020.
City were hit with a suspension in February 2020 for what UEFA called “serious breaches” of Financial Fair Play regulations.
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It was eventually overturned in June 2020 by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, although Ceferin, a former lawyer, has said UEFA “know we are right”.
His comments, given in an interview with The Telegraph, come while City are also fighting accusations by the Premier League that the club are in breach of their own financial rules.
“As a lawyer that he is and president of UEFA, he should wait and after do whatever he wants,” said Guardiola, when asked about Ceferin’s comments.
“He has to respect it and he has to wait. He has a lot of jobs to do at UEFA. A lawyer should respect the procedure and understand we have a right to defend ourselves.”
Pep Guardiola has hit back at comments from UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin. Photo by Alex Livesey – Danehouse/Getty Images
Meanwhile, Guardiola says he hopes Kalvin Phillips will get the game times “he deserves” at West Ham as his loan move to the London Stadium edges close.
Phillips is set to move until the end of the season after being restricted to just two Premier League starts in 18 months at City.
“The club tell me it’s still not done but he travelled [to London] to make a medical test, but it is not completely done,” Guardiola said. “It is going to be a loan for six months and hopefully he can play the minutes he deserve and I couldn’t give to him.
“I wish him [well]. I said many times, an exceptional human being and a football player, otherwise he wouldn’t be in the national team. Hopefully he can improve what it is.”
Guardiola is set to be without Erling Haaland for City’s trip to Tottenham in the FA Cup fourth round on Friday but John Stones is in line to return.
“He [Haaland] is on the verge of coming back,” said Guardiola. “Tomorrow [against Tottenham] he is not ready but he is close. Training camp was good, he trained some sessions, the last few days there he trained, but it is not perfect and we will wait a little bit more.”
