Kalvin Phillips: Man City Star Admits Guardiola’s Public Criticism Was Hard to Take

• Pep Guardiola publicly criticised Kalvin Phillips' weight after he returned from the 2022 World Cup
• Phillips moved to Manchester from Leeds United for £50 million last summer and his first season can easily be forgotten
• He did win the treble in his first year but will hope to get more active participation next season

Pep Guardiola is never scared to say it as it is, but one of his public criticisms of a player was hard to stomach for the player who felt his manager's assessment was inaccurate.

Manchester City paid £50 million for Kalvin Phillips from Leeds United, but the midfielder's first season can be forgotten like it never happened, as though he never existed in the treble-winning team.

Sun Sport noted that Phillips played only 593 minutes for Manchester City, with 103 of those coming in the Premier League, although he was eligible for a medal after appearing in more than five games.

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He made England's World Cup squad despite his lack of minutes, but was limited to only 35 minutes in Qatar due to an injury he was nursing, which made his invitation questionable.

Phillips rejects Guardiola's criticism

According to Football365, Pep Guardiola was not too impressed with how the midfielder turned up 'overweight' at the club's training facilities after the tournament in Qatar.

Phillips has rejected his manager's claims about his fitness after the Mundial and admitted it was hard to stomach while speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, via Daily Star.

"I'd probably say it was a little bit hard to take just because of how much it was oversized and how many people started talking about it," he said.

"I know obviously the manager made his comments and stuff like that, and I respected them because I did come back and I - I wasn't overweight for me, but the manager has seen it in a very different way."

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He returned to the bench for the game against his former club after missing the FA Cup game against Chelsea and was available for all games afterwards.

"I did my best to try to get as fit as possible… It was just one of those things where there was just a misunderstanding between me and some staff members."

Pirlo rejects Phillips' comparison

Sports Brief reported that Italian legend, Andrea Pirlo rejected comparisons to Phillips, who is famously dubbed after him in Leeds.

He is dubbed the Yorkshire Pirlo in his hometown even though the former Juventus manager is not in agreement as he found no similarities between them, although he did acknowledge him as a very good player.