Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips has admitted that he disagreed with Pep Guardiola's suggestion that he returned from last year's World Cup in Qatar "overweight".
Guardiola publicly criticised the former Leeds United ace following City's first game after the World Cup break last December, in which they beat Liverpool 3-2 in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup at the Etihad Stadium. Phillips, who made just two substitute appearances for England in Qatar, was a surprise absentee from the matchday squad.
At the time, it was presumed that Phillips was absent through injury, particularly as fellow England stars John Stones, Jack Grealish and Phil Foden, who all featured more prominently at the World Cup, were involved. However, Guardiola revealed that he was not pleased with the state that Phillips had returned in, saying he was "overweight" and "not in the right condition to train".
