Pep Guardiola faced the media at 2pm on Friday for his first press conference of the season, ahead of Manchester City’s season opener on Saturday evening against Wolves. As is customary for the Catalan, he was late for the beginning of the conference, arriving 15 minutes after the scheduled beginning. He spoke about team news for tomorrow’s game, transfer news amid speculation about Savinho and Ederson, as well as looking forward to the new season generally.
Is the team ready for the new season?
Pep was positive about the team’s preparation, saying "We are ready. We [had] a short preseason but a really good one, and ready to enjoy the good moments and bounce back as soon as possible."
Injury updates on Kovačić, Gvardiol, Rodri and Foden
Pep confirmed that Mateo Kovačić and Joško Gvardiol are not fit to travel, but that the Rodri and Phil Foden will be with the squad.
BREAKING: Josko Gvardiol and Mateo Kovacic are ruled out for Wolves vs #ManCity. Rodri and Phil Foden will travel to Molineux, confirms Pep Guardiola.
— City Xtra (@City_Xtra) August 15, 2025
Thoughts on Jack Grealish leaving
Asked about the loan move of Jack Grealish to Everton, Guardiola said: “The same as all the players, especially Jack, of course we wish him all the best at a traditional club like Everton and hopefully he can play, play and play. This is the reason why we decided all together that it’s the best for him to take minutes and play, play and play."
Signs of Improvement?
Initially, Guardiola simply answered “Yes” before pausing for a few moments. Eventually, he elaborated "I cannot assure you but the signs are, yeah, we will be better. But maybe it can be worse (laughs) we never know. But I think we will be better."
Does improving mean staying fit or changing tactics?
Guardiola started by saying "The tactics will be about the quality of the players, not much [will change].” He then pivoted to focusing on fitness, stating "And I would say the fitness is really important, it was the main reason, there were a few reasons last season, but I think the main reason is that we were not fit, and I think we are [now fit]."
Will the squad be trimmed further?
A question on the mind of many City fans, Guardiola responded "Yeah we have a few [exits expected]. But I think many clubs have the same. But it is difficult because I love all of them, I like all of them, and they like to be here. The situation is not easy but they know it so we have a lot of players and tomorrow there will be two players in the tribune and if the players come back [from injury] there will be four or five at home and of course it’s not the ideal situation, but at the same time we have a lot, a lot a lot of games.” When asked if he knew how many departures were expected, he said he did not.
Savinho to Spurs?
Perhaps the most anticipated question of the press conference, Pep said "I don’t know, it’s Tottenham in that case or any other club, the player needs to talk with the club. The only thing I’m concerned with today is that Savinho will be with us until the end of the season, and hopefully for many many years because he’s 21 year old with the potential he has, he has to improve with final decisions, but he’s an extraordinary players, otherwise he wouldn’t play 3000 minutes [last season]. If the clubs don’t find an agreement he will be here.” When asked if he had spoken with him, or with Ederson who is also linked with a move away, he responded "No, if they want to leave they will come to me."
Will Savinho and Ederson travel tomorrow?
Pep states that Savinho is injured from the club’s preseason game against Palermo and that he will not travel. He implied that Ederson was expected to travel, and that “Ederson never came to me with an offer so he’s here."
Pep Guardiola: “Ederson didn’t come to me and say that he wants to leave or that he has an offer.
— City Report (@cityreport_) August 15, 2025
All the players that are here are our players, and I work with them. What’s going to happen, nobody knows.” pic.twitter.com/wFSXMhhoMo
Why is it the right time for James McAtee to leave?
Confirming the news broken by many journalists yesterday, Pep said "I would love to have him. We have too many players and he wants minutes. I would love to give academy players minutes, like with Phil.” He was further asked if it is difficult selling academy players because he cannot give them minutes, to which he responded "Yeah, when you have Leroy or Raheem or Riyad Mahrez when his numbers have been unbelievable, Bernardo, Phil, its a question but if you want to compete for titles you need [academy players], otherwise what happened last season [will happen]. They are not fit, they’re injured; for three of four months we had one central defender. Now we have six."
Is Rodri fit to play?
The final question was regarding the fitness of the reigning Ballon d’Or winner Rodri. Pep had this to say: “Rodri is so soon to coming back. His knee is perfect, but he came back against Juventus and got injured for six weeks. Now he needs to bring minutes in training sessions. What we don’t what is him to come back, set back, come back, set back. Because then you cannot get your rhythm. He’s travelling tomorrow, he may play minutes, we will decide."
