Manchester City star Kalvin Phillips admits Pep Guardiola's comments calling him 'overweight' were 'hard to take'

Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips has admitted that Pep Guardiola's overweight comments were hard to take. He believed he was not over the weight limit, but his manager thought otherwise.

The English midfielder played just 21 matches in the 2022/23 season for Manchester City despite them going the distance in three tournaments. He was given just three matches in the UEFA Champions League while getting 12 games in the Premier League.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, Phillips claimed that he found it hard to take when Guardiola publically called him overweight. He said:

"For me, I wasn't overweight, but obviously the manager has seen it in a very different way. I just took it and did my best to get as fit as possible. It was a little hard to take just because of how much it was oversized and how many people started talking about it."

He believed it was just a misunderstanding between him and the staff and added:

"I was on the bench for the Leeds game straight after that and I was fit every match since then. It was just one of those things, it was a misunderstanding between me and some staff members."

Phillips was signed by the Cityzens last summer for £45 million from Leeds United. Next week, he has a documentary coming out on Amazon Prime - 'Kalvin Phillips: The Road to City' - where he also talks about his first season at the Etihad.

Pep Guardiola on Kalvin Phillips returning overweight at Manchester City

Pep Guardiola was not happy with Kalvin Phillips after he returned overweight from the FIFA World Cup. He claimed that the midfielder was not selected for the same reason, and not because he was injured.

Talking to the media after the match against Liverpool, Guardiola said:

"He's not injured. He arrived overweight. I don't know [why]. He didn't arrive in the condition to do training sessions and to play. That's why he cannot play. When he will be ready, he will play, because we need him, we need him a lot."

Reports in ESPN suggest West Ham United are interested in signing Kalvin Phillips this summer as the replacement for Declan Rice, who is heading to Arsenal. Liverpool were also linked with a move for the Manchester City star.