10 February 2024 , 22:30
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Kalvin Phillips has slammed Pep Guardiola’s handling of him after the Manchester City boss called him overweight.
Guardiola said the England midfielder was not fit to train upon returning from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Phillips claims that it was the toughest moment of his career, and his family felt Guardiola’s personal remarks crossed the line.
The 28-year-old, now on loan at West Ham, was taunted by Manchester United fans over the ordeal last weekend.
Phillips admitted: "When Pep came out and said I was overweight, he was right to do so but there are different ways to go about it. I did not disagree with him but obviously it took a big knock on my confidence and how I felt at City I would probably say that. And my family were not happy about it, either. Especially my mum."
Guardiola, who once dropped Sergio Aguero for being "too fat", has ruthlessly penalised players throughout his managerial career for exceeding his designated weight thresholds.
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But Phillips insists he did not intentionally return later than expected to City, 10 days after England's quarter-final heartbreak against France and 16 days after playing his final minutes of the tournament in the 3-0 triumph over Senegal.
He added: "People can say overweight - overweight for some people is like 10kg. I was probably 1.5kg over my weight target.
Pep Guardiola called Kalvin Phillips "overweight" in December 2022 and said he was not fit to train (Getty Images)"I think obviously Pep was frustrated that I didn't come back into training early but it was just miscommunication between the people that worked at City and myself.
"I got told to be back on a certain date and I was always going to go back earlier than that date anyway because I hadn't played that much for England during the tournament.
"I'd just recovered from my shoulder injury so Pep wanted me to come in the day after we finished the tournament so I could be involved in the friendlies. I never got that information because if he asked me to have been there, I would have been there."
Kalvin Phillips played just 40 minutes of action at the World Cup in Qatar (Getty Images)It's no secret that Phillips' mum, Lindsay Crossby, is his No.1 supporter and she has already made the long journey south from Leeds to cheer on her son in east London following his debut against Bournemouth on transfer deadline day.
But despite her unquestionable loyalty - even she became disillusioned by Phillips' lack of minutes at the Etihad Stadium.
Phillips concluded: "My mum has always been there to support me. She got frustrated when I was at City, she didn’t come to watch as much because she didn’t like going to watch football without me playing.
"That is just how some mums are. She is a person that has always supported me and she always will. Whatever decision I take in football she will always be there to support me. I could have gone anywhere in the world and she would have been there to watch me."
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