Pep Guardiola Threatens to Cut Manchester City Players if They Gain Weight After Christmas Holidays

Pep Guardiola has warned Manchester City players that if they eat too much over the Christmas break, they risk being left out of the squad for the next game against Nottingham Forest.

Guardiola revealed after the 3-0 win over West Ham on Saturday, December 20, 2025, that every player was weighed on Friday, December 19, 2025.

They will be weighed again when they return to training on Christmas Day. Guardiola said he would monitor the results carefully before choosing the squad to face Nottingham Forest on December 27, 2025.

"Every player is weighed (on Friday). They come back on December 25, 2025. I will be there to control how much weight they have."

"When they arrive after three days (of vacation), I want to see how they are when they come back. They can eat, but I want to control them."

"I have to make a selection against Nottingham Forest. Imagine one player and now he is perfect, but he will come with three kilos more weight. He will (stay) in Manchester. He will not go to Nottingham Forest," said Guardiola.

Manchester City are in second place in the English League table, two points behind leaders Arsenal.

Despite an easy win over West Ham and being in a good position in the league, Guardiola said some parts of the team's performance were not good.

In response, the Manchester City coach canceled a planned day off on Sunday, December 21, 2025, and instead reduced the players' rest time to three days.

"The players asked me to take a day off (on Sunday). I said, no, because you didn't play well enough."

"(On Sunday) recovery, training the players who didn't play, and after three days off, you have two days to prepare for Nottingham Forest."

"The schedule is very busy and the players have to forget about it. The players have to go with their families and forget about football," said Guardiola, who plans to spend Christmas holidays in Barcelona.