Kalvin Phillips makes ‘unhappy’ admission over ‘frustrated’ Pep Guardiola’s ‘overweight’ jibe
West Ham United loanee Kalvin Phillips has reflected on his time at Manchester City and offered his thoughts on Pep Guardiola’s “overweight” jibe.
Man City paid around £42m to sign Phillips from Leeds United during the 2022 summer transfer window.
The England international picked up a couple of trophies last season but his spell at Man City did not go to plan.
The 28-year-old barely played for the Premier League champions before leaving last month to join West Ham on loan as he was unable to dislodge world-class midfielder Rodri.
After the mid-season World Cup in 2022, Guardiola indicated to reporters that Phillips returned “overweight”.
Reflecting on this jibe, Phillips admitted Guardiola was “right” but he pointed out that there were “different ways to go about it”.
“After the World Cup was probably the toughest when Pep came out and said I was overweight,” Phillips admitted during an interview with The Guardian.
“He was right to do so but there are different ways to go about it. I did not disagree with him but obviously I took a big knock on my confidence and how I felt at City. And my family were not happy about it, either. Especially my mum.”
He added: “It was just a misunderstanding and I think he was very frustrated with me coming back 1.5kg over my weight target.
“I just took it on the chin. Me being the right professional, I probably should have gone in the day after the tournament finished but it’s one of those things that you live and learn.”
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Phillips also admitted that his “low point” for Man City came when he was at fault for Leicester City’s goal in his side’s 3-1 win in April 2023.
“I just felt shit,” Phillips added. “It was probably the low-point, confidence-wise. I spoke to Bielsa afterwards.
“He called me back via a translator and we had a conversation for around half an hour.
“He said he’d watched every game I’d been involved in since I moved from Leeds and he told me what he thought I should do to become the player I was at Leeds.”
Later in the interview, Phillips revealed that he now “feels a lot more alive” after his “stressful” period at Man City.
“It wasn’t a nightmare at City, it was just stressful. We won the treble. But when you’re sat on the bench, you don’t feel like it’s your medal to take, although they can’t take them away from me so I’m happy about that!” Phillips said.
“Over the last 18 months … I still loved the game, it just changed my way of thinking a little bit.
“The game wasn’t letting me down but the fact I had nothing to look forward to kind of pushed me away. Now I’m here at West Ham and playing, I feel a lot more alive. It’s not starting from scratch, it’s starting afresh.”
