Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has once again revealed his disdain for the crazy schedule that his players have to follow. The Premier League champions are without more than a few stars on their pre-season tour with Sergio Aguero, Ederson, Riyad Mahrez and even Nicolas Otamendi all part of that list. This is thanks to the Copa America and the African Cup of Nations being held at the same time, starting less than a month after the season ended.

“Some of them will come on July 29 or 30, others come back August 3 or 4,” Guardiola said. “They decide whether to come back after three or four weeks off. I don’t want them to come back if they are not fit, or if they are tired and have still not recovered from a tough season.

It’s a crazy schedule and we’ll kill our players sooner or later, we cannot sustain it for a long time. They have to rest, but if the people want to come back a little bit earlier, they are more than welcome.”