Without being able to train, Pep Guardiola and his rigorous weight rule at Manchester City

At this point, Pep Guardiola's rigor as a coach should not surprise anyone. However, the revelation of a specific rule that the coach imposed on Manchester City caught the attention of many, after Gaël Clichy recalled the "two kilo rule" in an interview.

In conversation with The Coaches Voice, the Frenchman who played for the Manchester team between 2011 and 2016 recalled the rule and how it impacted the players: "If you weighed two kilos more than what he considered your maximum weight, you didn't train. In the football, you always hear coaches say: 'If you're overweight, you don't train.'

In the end, if it is an important player, the rule is swept under the rug because they need it. With Pep Guardiola, if you were two kilos above the weight you should have after finishing the hard work and proper nutrition of the preseason, you did not train. "I saw players who didn't train for two weeks."

When reading Clichy's words, many remembered Guardiola's sayings in a 2023 press conference in which he explained that Kalvin Phillips was not going to play because he was overweight. When questioned, Pep explained that having participated in the World Cup, where he worked with physiotherapists and nutritionists from the England team, he expected him to arrive fit, something he did not do: "When he is fit and ready, he will play." "If it's a disappointment? That's a private conversation with Kalvin."

Fernando Gago, a local exponent of the two kilo rule

Pep Guardiola is not the only coach who is rigorous with the weight of his guidance. During his stay in Racing, Fernando Gago suspiciously controlled this aspect among his players and knew how to leave players like Leonel Miranda, Carlos Alcaraz, Edwin Cardona and Gastón Gómez out of games.