Former Man City star reveals Pep Guardiola’s ruthless ‘two kilogram rule’ at the Etihad amid his strict policy of banishing overweight players… after previously punishing Sergio Aguero and Kalvin Phillips

A former Man City player has shed light on Pep Guardiola’s strict weight policy at the Etihad – claiming he has a two kilogram rule that decides if a player is too overweight to train with the squad. 

Guardiola is known for banishing players who return to his squad overweight – with Sergio Aguero and Kalvin Phillips falling foul of his regulations in the past.

The Spaniard – who has won 37 trophies across his glittering managerial career, but part of that success has come with discipline and ensuring his players are at the highest standards possible. 

And while players might not be overweight in a medical sense, Guardiola is said to have punished players who weigh in two kilograms heavier than what he decides is their ‘maximum’ weight.

That’s according to a former France international who played for City between 2011 and 2017 – with his final season being Guardiola’s first at the club.

Sergio Aguero (left) and Kalvin Phillips (right) have both fallen foul of Guardiola’s strict policy

Former left back Gael Clichy said Guardiola’s two-weight rule was one of the main things that stood out when he first arrived. 

‘If you weighed two kilos more than what he considered your maximum weight, you didn’t train,’ he told Marca. 

‘In football, you always hear coaches say: ‘If you’re overweight, you don’t train.’ In the end, if it’s an important player, the norm is swept under the rug because they need that player. 

‘With Pep Guardiola, if you were two kilos above the weight you should have after finishing the hard work and proper nutrition of the preseason, you did not train. I saw players who did not train during two weeks.’

Guardiola has already laid down the law to two notable players in the past at City – Aguero and Phillips – with the former recalling his manager’s admission that he had dropped him because he ‘turned up fat’.

‘If your ideal weight is 79-80kg and you were 80 kilos and 100 grams you would be fined and you don’t play,’ Aguero said.

‘But it can happen! You come across a little bit of chicken for example then you are going to be 50 grams over!’ 

Former left back Gael Clichy revealed how Guardiola has a two kilogram rule to decide if a player is overweight

Clichy – who played in one season under the Spaniard – said he had once seen a player not train for two weeks after breaching Guardiola’s regulations

‘Well the first season we were between fourth and third and he said 2I left you out because you turned up fat this week”. And what was I going to say? He was right… these things happen.

‘He said it in a good way. And at this time I didn’t really have his confidence. But I was always very respectful to the coaches…’

Guardiola also left out England international Phillips for returning from England’s 2022 World Cup in Qatar out of shape. 

‘He’s not injured – he arrived overweight,’ Guardiola said. ‘I don’t know [why]. He didn’t arrive in the condition to do training sessions and to play.’