Guardiola wants delayed start for Man City next season

Pep Guardiola wants Manchester City's archetypal matches of adjacent play to beryllium postponed - but fears the Premier League are not funny successful helping easiness the load connected their players.

Guardiola said City had asked for the hold due to the fact that of the club's engagement with the Club World Cup, but said the Premier League would not judge the request.

The last of the 32-team lawsuit is acceptable for 13 July astatine the MetLife Stadium successful New Jersey, creating a spread of either 4 oregon 5 weeks to the commencement of the 2025-26 Premier League season.

Three of those weeks volition beryllium mandatory remainder periods for the players.

"The Premier League has not allowed america to postpone the archetypal 2 games for our recovery," said Guardiola. "Thank you truthful much.

"I deliberation the nine asked the league to postpone 1 oregon 2 oregon 3 weeks truthful we tin person a vacation aft the [Club] World Cup but it is perfectly not allowed. The Premier League accidental yes to us? No. Absolutely not."

However, aft talking to officials astatine City and the Premier League, the BBC has learned determination has been nary ceremonial request.

The Premier League has yet to corroborate its commencement day for the 2025-26 campaign. However, if past seasons are immoderate guide, the contention volition statesman connected 9 oregon 16 August, with the Community Shield - which City person been progressive successful for six of the past 7 seasons - played the week before.

City and Chelsea are progressive successful the Club World Cup adjacent summer.

The BBC has learned determination person been informal discussions, with Premier League officials saying the contented has been created by an expanded planetary calendar which they person nary accidental over.

Guardiola is among a fig of elder City unit who person concluded the result of those informal talks is that the existent English champions volition conscionable person to get connected with it.

In the Covid-affected 2020-21 campaign, City and Manchester United were allowed to commencement a week aboriginal than the remainder of the Premier League arsenic they some took portion successful the specially-created 'Super Eight' competitions astatine the extremity of the Champions League and Europa Leagues successful the erstwhile season.

That meant they did not decorativeness the 2019-20 play until 15 and 16 August respectively, 4 weeks earlier the archetypal games of the caller play took place.

Wolves, who had played their past European crippled connected 11 August, did play successful the opening circular of fixtures but their lucifer astatine Sheffield United was moved to Monday, 14 September.

World governing assemblage Fifa has told each clubs astatine the Club World Cup they indispensable usage their strongest disposable squads.

"They won't postpone these games truthful determination volition beryllium a infinitesimal of 'what bash we do?'," added Guardiola.

"I don't person an reply close present but we are going to instrumentality a determination with communal sense."