Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has issued a stern warning to his squad about their Christmas diets, and a major UK supermarket chain has decided to playfully enforce his strict regime.
Supermarket Steps In With Cheeky Player Ban
In an unusual twist, local branches of the frozen food giant Iceland have imposed a ban on Manchester City players over the festive period. A spokesperson for the retailer humorously suggested they were offering Guardiola a helping hand in keeping his star-studded squad in check.
"With Pep keeping such a close eye on his players’ Christmas calories, we thought it was only right to do our bit to help support him and get the best result for local fans," the spokesperson said.
They added a note of temptation, explaining: "Our festive desserts are designed to be indulgent, over-the-top and impossible to resist... They’re perfect for Christmas celebrations, but probably not ideal if you’ve got a post-Christmas weigh-in and an important away trip on the line."
Guardiola's Festive Ultimatum to Squad
This supermarket intervention follows Guardiola's own brutal Christmas decision for his team. Despite City being on a winning streak and sitting second in the Premier League table on Christmas Day, the Catalan manager denied his players a day off after their 3-0 weekend victory over West Ham.
Guardiola stated the team "didn't play good enough" in that match, ordering recovery and training instead. He then laid out his strict post-festive plans, which include a mandatory weigh-in for every player upon their return on December 25th.
"I will be there controlling how many kilos come up, (to see if) they come fatty," Guardiola declared. "The moment they arrive after three days I want to see how they come back. They can eat but I want to control them."
Stakes Are High for Nottingham Forest Clash
The manager made it clear that any player returning overweight would face immediate consequences for the crucial Premier League fixture against Nottingham Forest on December 27th.
"Imagine one player and now he’s perfect but he will arrive with three kilos more. He will (stay) in Manchester. He will not travel to Nottingham Forest," Guardiola warned.
City's next opponents, Forest, who were beaten by Fulham recently, are braced for a tough test. Their manager, Sean Dyche, praised Guardiola's achievements ahead of the match, placing him among the managerial greats.
"There's only probably maybe Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex [Ferguson] over him," Dyche said. "What he's done has been remarkable in many different ways down the years."
Guardiola's side heads into the festive period in strong form, having won all four of their Premier League matches in December, alongside victories over Real Madrid in the Champions League and Brentford in the Carabao Cup.
