Pep Guardiola plans drastic Man City solution to combat his biggest gripe

As Pep Guardiola pulled up a chair in the media room at Stamford Bridge to dissect a first Premier League win of the season on Sunday, he had good news and bad news to deliver.

"Good news, first three points, bad news we have 70 games ahead of us," the Manchester City manager said. The starting pistol has been fired on a season that might not end for 11 months.

City will face two more Champions League group stage fixtures this term as a result of UEFA's revamp of their own club competitions, and will then take part in FIFA's new-look Club World Cup in the United States from June 15 to July 13 next summer. That 32-team tournament could tag an extra seven games on to the season and effectively mean the 2024/25 season segues straight into the following campaign.

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It's a brutal schedule and one that player unions are starting to fight back against, particularly when it comes to the increase of games being demanded by the governing bodies. The question being asked is whether UEFA and FIFA are really acting in the best interests of the stars of the show, or whether the real prize is an attempt to fill their own coffers.

Guardiola has been a consistent critic of the schedule and last season said it was now up to the players to take stronger action. Rodri has been a vocal advocate for a reduction in the number of games having played 63 times last season and 68 the year before that.

Clubs who go deep in Europe and have to plan for the Club World Cup will be looking at ways to manage that workload this season and Guardiola has backed an idea floated by Real Madrid