Pep Guardiola Issues Defiant Message to International Team Managers Ahead of World Cup

• Pep Guardiola has promised not to grant any favours to national team managers ahead of the World Cup in Qatar
• Guardiola intends to use his star players against Brentford and has ruled out resting them for their national team duties
• Manchester City play Brentford it's weekend, looking to keep pressure on surprise log leaders Arsenal

Manchester City Head Coach Pep Guardiola has vowed not to rest his players who will be leaving for the World Cup.

The Premier League and all the other top leagues in the world will be taking a break as the world heads to Qatar next weekend.

It is an unusual World Cup, the first to be held in between a major season. There have been growing concerns about players' welfare, with many players forced to withdraw from the tournament due to injury.

There had been unconfirmed reports that national team coaches would make special requests to club managers to rest their players. The national managers will only have one week to prepare for the event.

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Keeping the pressure on Arsenal

Guardiola has now vowed not to rest any player ahead of his side's clash against Brentford. City are involved in a race with Arsenal for the Premier League title and Guardiola will require his full personnel to pick maximum points.

As quoted by Sky Sports, he has asked the national team managers not to call him.

Close to 16 Manchester City players have been called up by their respective federations. Top of the list is Kevin De Bruyne, who will lead Belgium's charge in Qatar.

Players complain about the cramped up schedule

Sports Brief has also reported that football players are being pushed past their limits by juggling between domestic football and the World Cup, according to players' union Fifpro.

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While the World Cup is a little over one week away, players participating in the spectacle still have to deal with one more round of domestic matches this weekend.

During midweek, there were also games in the various divisions, from the Carabao Cup to the La Liga and other cup competitions across Europe.