Pep Guardiola says no-one at Manchester City, himself included, deserves a bonus after a season of struggle.
FIFA announced this week the winners of the revamped Club World Cup would take home £97million, assuming they won their group stage matches as well.
City are one of the participating teams in the United States, with the competition getting underway on June 15, but asked if the manager or players would receive a share of that, Guardiola said: “We don’t deserve it this season. We don’t deserve a bonus this season.
“If we go there and win, it’s for the club. Managers, staff, backroom staff, players; we don’t deserve [a bonus]. Not even a watch.”
Bournemouth tie huge for City
City’s hopes of clinching a fifth successive Premier League title evaporated several weeks ago and they currently sit fifth in the table, lodged in a battle to finish in a Champions League spot.
Their remaining chance of silverware this season is in the FA Cup and they face a tricky quarter-final tie at Bournemouth on Sunday.
City lost 2-1 at the Vitality Stadium in November and Guardiola is expecting another tough game against a team that play with great intensity under Andoni Iraola.
“They have a special way of playing and it works with the players and the ideas that they have,” said the former Barcelona boss. “Every team plays in a specific way and they do it really well. Other teams are more direct, other teams want more crosses.”
City are back, City are back! 👋 pic.twitter.com/O4p1fj1OiG
— Manchester City (@ManCity) March 27, 2025
Guardiola coy on De Bruyne future
The Club World Cup has added a potential headache for City with the Premier League opening an additional transfer window from June 1 to June 10 to enable clubs to bolster their squads and tie existing players down to new deals before the tournament gets underway.
This opens the possibility of Kevin De Bruyne, who is out of contract at the end of this season, departing earlier than scheduled.
Asked about the Belgium playmaker’s future at the Etihad, Guardiola said: “It is between the club and Kevin and his agent.
“In the position that I am in, we are just concerned about the team and finishing the season in the best position possible. We have to think about the best thing for the club with the FA Cup, the Premier League and the Club World Cup.”
Guardiola also gave a cautious answer to a question asking if injured midfielder Rodri could be back for the Club World Cup.
He said: “It would be nice if he could play tomorrow but [that would be] the wrong decision right now. He is behaving on the pitch really well but competition is different. We have to be sure he is fine before he is involved.”
A trip to the Vitality Stadium for our #FACup quarter-final 👊
🤝 #AsahiSuperDry pic.twitter.com/Gh8JN2OnPg
— Manchester City (@ManCity) March 26, 2025
Guardiola insists the FA Cup will always be important to City
City head to the South Coast as favourites to win the FA Cup and hope to extend their remarkable record of reaching the semi-finals to a seventh successive year.
Guardiola has always taken the cup competitions seriously and he says that stance is not about to change.
“We see every week in the Premier League and can prove it again in the FA Cup. I remember at Barcelona and Bayern Munich, in England the biggest thing is every team can beat every team,” he said.
“I’ve seen teams like Liverpool who have done amazing in the Premier League, as have Arsenal, but the rest of the teams, everything can happen.
“We take the FA Cup seriously like the Carabao Cup in the past when we won it four times in a row.”
