Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola, has tendered an apology to Kalvin Phillips for saying the player gained too much weight on returning from World Cup duty with England back in December 2022.
The tactician was explaining why Phillips had been left out of his squad for a Carabao Cup fourth-round tie against Liverpool.
But the English player granted an interview earlier this month where he admitted Guardiola’s comments had a “big knock” on his confidence.
The 28-year-old midfielder also 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. It was just a misunderstanding and I think he was very frustrated with me coming back 1.5kg over my weight target,” Phillips added.
Speaking in a press conference ahead of City’s Premier League game against Brentford on Tuesday, Guardiola said: “Yeah, I’m sorry. Once in eight years is not bad. But I’m so sorry. I apologise to him. I spoke to him before [making the comment]. I never, ever don’t speak to the team before I say something here, or the player in that case.”
Guardiola also revealed that he and Phillips, who is currently at West Ham on loan talked about the issue last month.
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.
