sport news MAN CITY NOTEBOOK: Pep Guardiola's leaders establish a new chain of command, ... trends now
There is a new hierarchy at Manchester City – and it’s been laid out on the tarmac at their training ground.
Notebook has been told that Pep Guardiola’s five-man leadership group – Kyle Walker, Kevin De Bruyne, Ruben Dias, Rodri and Bernardo Silva – recently came up with a different chain of command.
Not out on the grass or in the gym, but the car park. It’s now a more regimented place, with specific spots for players based on their status and longevity.
Everybody has their own numbered bay these days and the likes of 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 old timers, clearly felt the potential perk needed cementing and it’s not a rule that has ever been in situ before. Perhaps those who do extra work before training were nicking all the prime spots.
Manchester City players have instituted a new hierarchy at the club's training ground
Senior City players will now have their parking spaces closer to the entrance in recognition of their lengthy service to the club
Kyle Walker looked in good spirits as he picked up his new BYD Seal in a social media post he shared on Wednesday
Guardiola’s is obviously safe from the new system. His £47,000 electric Nissan Ariya, the latest in a line of vehicles while manager, rolls in where he’s always been.
Walker has just got himself a new electric BYD so there might be a tussle for chargers in the first-team car park, with some wryly noting how those are just that bit quicker than in other areas of the campus.
GOOD NEWS ON THE INJURY FRONT
Some good news for Guardiola this week with both Phil Foden and Ruben Dias back in training. The pair had missed Sunday’s victory at Nottingham Forest through illness. Ederson, who had left the City Ground with his left arm in a sling, has been present and the Brazilian hopes to play again this season.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE HEADACHE LOOMING?
Girona secured European qualification last month – and UEFA’s new rules on multi-club ownership mean they will definitely be able to feature in a different European competition to sister club City.
The Catalans can definitely play in either the Europa League or Conference League but have aspirations of something grander. And that’s when the suits get involved.
Third in the table and 13 points ahead of fifth-placed Athletic Bilbao, Champions League qualification can be sealed this coming weekend if they were to beat local rivals Barcelona at home. They’d also leapfrog Barca back into second.
Were that to happen, UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) will sit to determine whether both Girona and City can be registered for next year’s expanded competition.
The crux of whether the two CFG teams could compete in the Champions League alongside each other lies with proving that there is no executive control or information sharing.
UEFA’s article 5 reads that no participating club, ‘be involved in any capacity whatsoever in the management, administration
