Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has apologised to Kalvin Phillips for saying publicly that he had returned from the Qatar World Cup overweight.
Guardiola made the comment in a press conference in December 2022 having left the City and England midfielder out of a Carabao Cup tie against Liverpool.
Phillips, who joined West Ham on loan in January, earlier this month told the Observer that “after the World Cup was probably the toughest, when Pep came out and said I was overweight”, adding: “I did not disagree with him but obviously I took a big knock on my confidence and how I felt at City.”
Guardiola was asked at a press conference on Monday if he regretted going public about Phillips’ weight, and he said: “Yeah, I’m sorry.
“Once in eight years is not bad. But I’m so sorry. I apologise to him. I do apologise. I’m sorry.”
Phillips said there had been a misunderstanding as to when he was expected to report back and that rather than speaking to Guardiola about that, he “just took it on the chin”.
Guardiola emphasised that he had spoken to Phillips before making the public comment about his weight, saying: “I never, never before I said something here did not speak with the players in that case.”
The manager was talking ahead of Tuesday’s Premier League home clash with Brentford, who City came from behind to beat 3-1 at the Gtech Community Stadium on February 5.
That match saw City defender Kyle Walker respond angrily to something Neal Maupay, the forward on loan with the Bees from Everton, had said to him in the closing stages.
Guardiola said: “I don’t want it but sometimes there is emotions and it happens, and you know that. But this (incident) is forgotten. It happened, I think they talked and that’s all.”
Asked how he dealt with players verbally winding him up during his days on the pitch, the former Barcelona midfielder said: “It depended on my mood!
“Listen, in my period in Barcelona I am in the history for having the record of the most yellow cards conceded. All the time it was for talk, talk, talk.
“So it depends, sometimes I controlled (myself), sometimes (I was) being crazy. People say ‘ah, he cannot control’. As a football player I was the same.”
Tuesday’s fixture is a game in hand for third-placed City over leaders Liverpool and second-placed Arsenal, who the defending champions are four and two points behind respectively.
Guardiola’s treble-winners saw an 11-match winning run in all competitions come to an end with Saturday’s 1-1 league draw with Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium.
Postecoglou not motivated by denting Arsenal's title hopes in north London derby
Ange Postecoglou insists Tottenham must focus on themselves heading into the north London derby with Arsenal, rather than on denting their rivals' Premier League title hopes.
With four matches remaining, the Gunners are a point clear at the summit from reigning champions Manchester City, who still have a game in hand on Mikel Arteta's side in second place.
While Arsenal look to stay very much in the hunt for a first league crown in 20 years, fifth-place Tottenham will aim to reduce their six-point deficit to fourth-place Aston Villa, on whom they have two games in hand.
Spurs are winless in the last three north London derbies - winning just one of the most recent six - though they twice came from behind to earn a point in September's reverse fixture at the Emirates Stadium.
And Postecoglou has his sights firmly set on beating his side's rivals, and says his players are not driven by the prospect of thwarting their opponents' title bid.
"Not in terms of that as a motivation," he said when asked if he would like to dent Arsenal's title hopes.
"I understand the importance of winning against your traditional rival. I never believe your motivation should revolve around the demise of somebody else.
"Your motivation should be about yourself. We can win on Sunday, but it doesn't mean we are title contenders this year. I want to win because I want us to progress. I want us to be in a position fighting for the title.
"If that's your kind of measure, always peering over the back fence to see what your neighbour's building, you could both have the worst houses in the street because everyone else is building beautiful places, and you're looking over the back fence."
Leicester City seal automatic Premier League return
Leicester City are once more a Premier League team, having bounced straight back after relegation last season.
The Foxes secured automatic promotion without kicking a ball, as title rivals Leeds United lost 4-0 away to Queens Park Rangers on Friday.
Marti Cifuentes' Hoops side gave their fans a reason to cheer in their final home game of the season, and the emphatic win means they are now seven points clear of the relegation zone.
The Hoops boss told BBC Sport: "I came here, perhaps I was crazy thinking we could manage the great escape.
"The atmosphere has been unbelievable since I came here. Everybody thought tonight could be a special night to achieve our target.
"Big players deliver big performances and our players all did that tonight."
Defeat ensured only Ipswich Town can now finish above Leicester, meaning the Foxes will be back in the big time.
Ipswich, who have three games left to play, face play-off hopefuls Hull City on Saturday.
Speaking to BBC Sport, Leeds boss Daniel Farke said: "It's not in our hands any more [automatic promotion], we need to be honest.
"The race is not over. If Ipswich win the next two games then I will say congratulations, but if they don’t win them then we will have a lot to play for.
"As long as we have a chance, I’m far away from giving up."
Leicester could be crowned champions if they beat Preston North End on Monday and if Hull beat Ipswich.
The Foxes are looking to break the 100-point barrier, despite a wobble from Enzo Maresca's side in recent months.
After they had been so far ahead and top for all but two of the 176 days between 23 September and 17 March, an untimely dip in form handed Leeds and Ipswich hope.
However, while Leicester celebrate their promotion, they face the daunting prospect of starting next season with a points deduction, after they were charged by the Premier League with alleged breaches of the competition's Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).
Nashville SC v San Jose Earthquakes: ‘A win would change everything’ - Godoy
Anibal Godoy insists that Nashville are already looking at their game against San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday as a must-win.
Nashville have won just once in the MLS this season and sit in 14th place in the Eastern Conference after a run of four without a win.
The Earthquakes, meanwhile, are bottom of the Western Conference having lost eight of their matches and recording just one win.
Godoy is aware of how their poor start to the season could affect their playoff hopes later down the line but is confident that Nashville can turn things around.
He said: “For us, it's an important week. It's a day we have to win, or we'll start to feel the pressure from other teams as they start to separate in the table.
“This league is long but if we want to get to the playoff you have to win games early on, especially at home.”
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