MAN CITY NOTEBOOK: Pep Guardiola’s leaders establish new chain of command as Girona close to Champions League qualification… and that could spell danger for the Etihad
There is a new hierarchy at Manchester City – and it has been mapped out on the tarmac at their training ground.
Notebook has learned that Pep Guardiola’s group of five managers – Kyle Walker, Kevin De Bruyne, Ruben Dias, Rodri and Bernardo Silva – have recently worked out a different chain of command.
Not on the grass or in the gym, but in the parking lot. It’s now a more regulated place, with specific slots for players based on their status and longevity.
Everyone has their own numbered bay these days and Mateo Kovacic, Matheus Nunes and Jeremy Doku are further away from the entrance than those who have been with the club throughout the successes under Guardiola.
Walker and Co, the elders, clearly felt the potential benefit needed in cementing and it is not a rule that has ever been applied before. Perhaps those who put in extra work before training grab all the top spots.
Manchester City players have instituted a new hierarchy at the club’s training ground
City’s senior players will now have their parking spaces closer to the entrance in recognition of their long service to the club.
Kyle Walker looked in good spirits as he collected his new BYD seal in a social media post he shared on Wednesday.
Guardiola is obviously immune to the new system. His £47,000 electric Nissan Ariya, the latest in a range of vehicles as manager, is getting to where it has always been.
Walker just got a new electric BYD, so there could be a fight over the chargers in the first team parking lot, with some wryly noting that these are a bit faster than in other areas of campus .
GOOD NEWS ON THE INJURY FRONT
Good news for Guardiola this week with Phil Foden and Ruben Dias back in training. Both men missed Sunday’s win at Nottingham Forest due to illness. Ederson, who left the City Ground with his left arm in a sling, was present and the Brazilian hopes to play again this season.
A CHAMPIONS LEAGUE HEADACHE COMING AHEAD?
Girona secured European qualification last month – and new UEFA rules on multi-club ownership mean they will certainly be able to compete in a different European competition to sister club City.
The Catalans can certainly play in the Europa League or Conference League, but aspire to something bigger. And that’s where costumes come into play.
Third in the table and 13 points ahead of fifth-placed Athletic Bilbao, qualification for the Champions League can be sealed this coming weekend if they beat local rivals Barcelona at home. They would also put Barça in second place.
If that were to happen, UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) would sit to determine whether Girona and City can be entered for next year’s expanded competition.
The key to whether the two CFG teams could compete side by side in the Champions League lies in proving that there is no executive control or information sharing.
Article 5 of UEFA states that no participating club “shall be involved in any capacity whatsoever in the management, administration and/or sporting performance of any other club participating in a UEFA club competition.” UEFA”.
If the CFCB were to decide against the CFG clubs, whoever finished best in their respective national division would win the Champions League place. Let’s leave the permutations if they both finish second for another day.
Girona secured European qualification for the first time in their history after beating Cadiz 4-1 last month.
Liverpool Montevideo winger Luciano Rodriguez scored the winning goal in last year’s Under-20 World Cup final against Italy.
THE URGUAYAN STAR ON THE ROUTE TO THE CFG
Speaking of Girona, it seems they are looking for the next Savio. Luciano Rodriguez, Uruguay’s next big attacking talent, is on their list heading into the summer.
The Liverpool Montevideo winger scored the winner in last year’s Under-20 World Cup final against Italy and earned senior recognition under Marcelo Bielsa in March.
Although this goal in the final was that of a poacher, Rodriguez is renowned for his spectacularity and his specialist in free kicks. Diamond in the rough, Feyenoord were close to landing it last year and are expected to rival Girona this time too.
Brazilian champions Palmeiras – where Gabriel Jesus has been – are also tracking the 20-year-old.
Rodriguez has 13 goals for Liverpool this season and plays mainly on the right wing. He could change flanks on a move to Europe given the use of inverted wingers. Rodriguez’s representative, Paulo Pitombeira of Talents Sports, has close ties to the CFG.
City sign Savio and, as Notebook has detailed, are set to decide where his development is best served ahead of next season.
RED FACES ON THE BLUE SIDE OF MANCHESTER
So there will be no clash of music and football on the Etihad campus this weekend after the doomed opening of the Co-op Live Arena claimed another victim. American singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo has had her concerts canceled. This town clearly wasn’t big enough for two Rodrigos.
She was due to perform on Saturday night, with her fans in theory flocking to the arena during City’s match against Wolves. The intrigue of how the logistics of hosting two simultaneous events work will have to wait.
Rodrigo’s show was canceled after it was believed that hours before filming A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie on Wednesday, an air conditioning unit fell from the ceiling and fans were asked to leave the area. Red faces on the blue side of town.
American singer Olivia Rodrigo (seen here on Tuesday in Dublin) was due to perform at Co-op Live this week before air conditioning faults delayed her concerts.
ADAM’S ACT OF FAITH
Highly-rated midfielder Josh Adam is set to leave City on a free transfer at the end of the season.
Adam left Celtic four years ago and has impressed at various levels, often invited to train with Guardiola’s first team.
The Scotland Under-21 international has spent the last two seasons playing for Brian Barry-Murphy’s elite development side and wants to challenge himself in the senior game.
Known for his creativity in attacking areas, the 20-year-old is taking the plunge and plying his trade elsewhere. He will leave City after winning the Under-18 Premier League and the Under-21 division.
Highly-rated midfielder Josh Adam is set to leave City on a free transfer at the end of the season.
Notebook understands there is early interest from clubs in the Bundesliga and Belgian Pro League as teams across the continent look for bargains in the Premier League.
Adam is thought to be excited at the prospect of attempting to emulate some of Britain’s brightest young stars on the now well-trodden path to development in Europe.
