Pep Guardiola comment about Kalvin Phillips’ weight prompted the England midfielder to “peed off” with other teams.
More specifically, the 28-year-old became irritated that his weight was often brought up when speaking with suitors following that comment. After the 2022 World Cup, Manchester City boss Guardiola stated Phillip returned from Qatar overweight, which has since become a sort of stigma for him in the public eye.
Read Also:Real Madrid Legend Slams ‘Rock And Roll’ Team For Having ‘Too Much Muscle And Toughness’
Phillips, who joined Ipswich Town on loan from City this summer, revealed that current manager Kieran McKenna, like former managers such as Pep and Marcelo Bielsa, is concerned with body composition. He joined former Leeds teammate Patrick Bamford on the My Mate’s A Footballer podcast to discuss how Guardiola’s public prodding caused a ripple effect.
“You probably heard about the time when Pep came out and said that I was overweight after the World Cup and stuff,” he told reporters. “And I believe that story on social media just continued to grow. Every club I went to, I spoke with, such as the manager and the dietician, and they would always talk about weight first.
“And it came to the point where it annoyed me a little. I was becoming frustrated with it, but now that I’ve moved to Ipswich, I feel that the manager is an incredible person as well as a manager. And, you know, we talked about all of my previous career experiences and everything like that.
“And he basically said, ‘I’m big on body composition, and I just want you to get back to where you were when you left Leeds, or when you were at Leeds.
COMMENTS