TV bosses do not care about players, says Pep

PEP GUARDIOLA claimed TV bosses dismiss player welfare as Manchester City face two games in 46 hours over Christmas. City play Wolves on December 27 before hosting Sheffield United two days later, a move that left chief operating officer, Omar Berrada, questioning the league’s ‘sporting integrity’. ‘The system does not protect the players, it’s too much,’ Guardiola said in the build-up to today’s game at Crystal Palace. ‘The broadcasters pay a lot of money. They don’t look at these players or this club. What is best for my money now, to pay back, they do it. The broadcasters are the bosses, it’s not about us. I’m concerned for the players. It’s a business. They do not care about the players. He’s injured? OK, another one.’ Guardiola then joked: ‘Maybe the broadcasters are fans of another club!’ With less than 118 hours between three games, Guardiola must rotate and rest his players. He said: ‘Players to the fridge! I’m not joking. Go home, open the fridge, and get inside for 48 hours. See you at the Etihad Stadium. When I open the fridge to make an omelette maybe I can talk with my players.’ Guardiola’s concerns were echoed by Wolves counterpart Nuno Espirito Santo. The City game at Molineux has been put back a day for screening on Amazon, before Wolves travel to Liverpool for a match shown on Sky on December 29. ‘It’s tough, it’s dangerous,’ he said. ‘Forty-five hours — it’s impossible to play another game. It’s absurd, ridiculous. ‘The players have to compete and we will. But people who decide this don’t have the consciousness of the physical impact for the players during a game. I will be ready, but I don’t have to run 12 kilometres one-and-a-half days before.’