Fifa can save the game from greed

Premier League marks for most points, greatest margin of victory, most wins and most goals. And Guardiola has made it clear he will not tolerate his stars resting on their laurels.

“If they think after they have won, ‘okay, I’m really good!’ then that is the moment we start to go down,” he said. “So you have to be clear with them. The guys who are good, say you are good and when you are bad, say you are bad. I try to be fair with what I see on the pitch, off the pitch, try to choose the right line-up and try to win.

“After we won the league in advance, except for one game here against Huddersfield when we were tired, the other games we were there.

“I don’t think too much about next week or February or January, something like that.”

Guardiola’s opening game pits him against new Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri, whom he admired from afar at Napoli and who became a friend over a recent dinner date in Italy facilitated

Arrigo Sacchi.

“We are going to improve because of his ideas,” said Guardiola of Sarri’s arrival. “I’ve seen three games and he gets it. The team already, in a short time, plays like he wants. He needs more time but his ideas are already there. Chelsea will be a big rival, they always are. He will be perfect for English football.” by mutual friend

Guardiola goes into the Shield game buoyed by the announcement that Brazilian striker Gabriel Jesus, 21, has signed a new contract that will keep him with the club until 2023.

“Gabriel has improved a lot since he came — his courage, his fight, every effort for the team,” he said. “I’ve never met a striker who fights like him for the team. He always wants to improve.”

City have not had such plain sailing in the case of another Brazilian, Douglas Luiz, who signed for City 12 months ago but was loaned to Girona last season. Guardiola is keen to have the 20-year-old midfielder in his squad this season, but City are bogged down in the process of gaining a work permit for him.

I think he has the potential to stay with us and improve but it depends on the work permit.”

Football has gone crazy and maybe only Fifa can save it. That’s not a sentiment that has been prevalent over the last few decades but it’s a genuine feeling.

After a wonderful World Cup, we have been snapped back to reality by the transfer silly season in Europe.

The prices paid have been exorbitant for a while now, but it’s getting obscene.

Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, at 33, commanding a £100 million ($193 million) fee to join Juventus from Real Madrid.

Liverpool signing Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson for £67m ($129m), when he has played only one full season of Serie A, and Manchester City adding to their already bulging stockpile of midfield talent with Riyad Mahrez snagged for £60m ($115m).

It’s so far removed from reality, that the club game in Europe will soon have a problem.

International football, for all it’s issues, is becoming the purest form of the sport. A group of players, with a common nationality, purpose, and bond. A coach who has to pick his best XI and make do with what he has.

You can’t go and buy talent (unless you are from a select few Middle East countries).

You are constrained by the pool of players either born in, or with ancestral links to, your nation.

On the other hand, club football at the highest level, especially in the English Premier League, is becoming a plaything for billionaire tycoons. Coaching, selection, training, teamwork, tactics, strategy and fan support all play their part, but the chequebook is king.

The problem is — where will it all end?

To paraphase Gordon Gecko, how many £50m midfielders do you need?

Look at Manchester City. Although everyone admired the football they played last season, it’s a direct result of the hundreds of millions of pounds that were spent last summer, the summer before, and the summer before that, to build the perfect squad.

But they’ve now not got much to do with Manchester, or even England anymore.

They are basically a World All Stars team, based in Manchester, who will play another World XI at Old Trafford later this year, then journey south to face another artificial creation at Stamford Bridge. Liverpool and Arsenal aren’t much further back.

The English Premier League is still great entertainment, but over time it could all become a bit meaningless, and you could throw much of the UEFA Champions League into that pot, especially with players switching clubs much more frequently than in the past. That’s where Fifa comes in. The world governing body needs to ensure the international game continues to thrive and prosper.

It has to stay relevant, as a place where you can’t buy your way to instant success (notwithstanding the economic advantages of richer nations).

Unfortunately, Fifa’s plans to expand the World Cup by 2026 might have come at the worst possible time, as the qualification phase in most confederations (except Europe) will become a bit of a procession, taking the internation battles away from the spotlight.

But hopefully that’s a needless worry, and the World Cup, along with the European Championships, Copa America, Asian Cup, African Cup of Nations et al, continue to have their prominent place in the spotlight, to remind us all about what really matters in football.

And it’s not the ability of your accountants, the generosity of your particular sheikh, or the largesse of your bank in providing yet another loan extension.

Maybe here it’s more complicated because of the contenders. All the teams are good. Pep Guardiola