The incident happened back in December 2022, after the City players returned from the Qatar World Cup. Guardiola had omitted Phillips from his squad for a Carabao Cup fourth-round clash against Liverpool. He later explained his decision to leave out the midfielder by saying that he was overweight.
The public criticism did not go down well with the England international. After joining West Ham on loan in January, he claimed that the coach’s comment came as a ‘big knock’ to his confidence.
The Catalan coach has now offered a public apology to Phillips, as he told reporters: “I’m sorry. I do apologise to him. I’m so sorry. I did speak about that. I never before said something here [to the media] without speaking to the player.”
The 28-year-old has not had the ideal start to life at West Ham, as his first touch for the club resulted in a goal for opponents Bournemouth in a Premier League clash in January. In the club’s last league game against Nottingham Forest, he was sent off after picking up two yellow cards in quick succession.
After a disappointing 1-1 draw against Chelsea last weekend, Guardiola will hope that the Cityzens will get back to winning ways when they take on Brentford at home in the Premier League on Tuesday. Phillips, meanwhile, will sit out West Ham’s next game against the same opponents on March 26.
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