Fri, February 20, 2026 at 1:10 PM UTC
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has been speaking to the media before Saturday’s Premier League game against Newcastle at Etihad Stadium (20:00 GMT).
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
Guardiola nodded when asked if Erling Haaland is “fully fit” for the visit of the Magpies and confirmed Savinho is “ready” while Jeremy Doku is “not ready” for the game.
On the Premier League title race: “I didn’t speak one second about that with my players. Yesterday and the day before, it’s just Newcastle, Newcastle and Newcastle. I didn’t talk about the table, I didn’t talk about our position. I could not care less! It’s 12 games [remaining]. It’s 12 games, it’s an eternity. Many things are going to happen. That’s the only truth I have.”
On the gap to Arsenal: “They were nine points when we had a game in hand, so whenever everybody is on the same fixtures and games being played then after we will see the difference. Many things going to happen. I said weeks ago. Many thing are going to happen until the end of the season.”
Do his players have extra experience over Mikel Arteta’s side in the title race?: “Seventy per cent of the players are new, so they don’t have the experience to live these kinds of situations. An experience is to win tomorrow. It is only one.”
Guardiola was asked about the incident of alleged racist abuse targeted at Vinicius Junior: “Not for where you are born or your colour of skin makes you better or worse. There’s a lot of work to do; it’s in society, it’s not just in football. Racism is everywhere and if you pretend racism is just for the colour of skin, it’s how you behave – that’s racism. It’s how you pretend you are better than others just for many reasons.”
He was asked about legendary former Newcastle manager Sir Bobby Robson, who he played under for a season at Barcelona: “What a man! I was fortunate and lucky to have him in Barcelona one season. Truly a gentleman – it was a huge honour. His impact in football, not just in the team he’s trained, really good.”
Guardiola responded to Wayne Rooney’s comments saying he hopes the Spaniard stays beyond this season: “A huge honour! When compliments come from football players or players involved in the game, and Wayne – what a player! I think in world football, in this country, there are thousands, millions of huge personalities that make the sport better and Wayne has been one of them.”
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