Pep Guardiola Warns Man City Players, 'They Can Eat, But I Want to Control Them'

Much like Santa Claus, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is making a list and checking it twice, and in his own way, he's going to find out who's been naughty or nice.

After City's 3-0 win over West Ham on Saturday, Guardiola revealed his players were weighed last Friday. They'll step onto the scales again on Christmas Day to ensure they've maintained their diets.

"Every player make a weight [on Friday]," he said, per ESPN's Rob Dawson. "They come back on the 25th and I will be there controlling how many kilos come up. The moment they arrive after three days [off] I want to see how they come back.

"They can eat, but I want to control them."

Guardiola asserted that players who fail to hit the necessary benchmarks won't travel for Saturday's match against Nottingham Forest.

His counterpart is taking a more relaxed approach.

"Is Pep weighing himself, do you think?" Nottingham Forest boss Sean Dyche quipped to reporters Tuesday.

Dyche said he's expecting his squad to use "common sense" and not overindulge. Otherwise, he wants the players to take advantage of their downtime.

"Sometimes, the psychology is as important as anything with athletes and, within reason, you want them to enjoy their Christmas Day. I certainly do. It's a big part of their life," he said.

"It's fair to say that I do consider figures important but I'm not obsessed with it, weights and all that sort of stuff, but I've got my eye on it."

Guardiola's exacting standards are nothing new.

While he has forged strong relationships with his players throughout his managerial career, he has always been fixated on the smaller details. The 54-year-old can be decisive when a player is failing to meet his desired expectations as well.

The results speak for themselves as Manchester City has six Premier League titles during the Guardiola era and finally claimed a Champions League medal in 2022-23.

A changing of the guard could be on the horizon.

The Athletic's David Ornstein reported on Dec. 18 that "there is a growing anticipation of this being Guardiola's last season at City." The club has already started entertaining hypothetical successors, including Chelsea's Enzo Maresca.

Guardiola has publicly denied he's on the way out.

If a new manager is in charge next Christmas, perhaps Manchester City players might be afforded a little more freedom at the dining table.