Kalvin Phillips, who was once a key player for Leeds United, has spoken candidly about the frustrations he experienced while playing for Manchester City under Pep Guardiola.
In 2022, Manchester City signed Phillips for a reported initial £42 million to sign the midfielder with another £3 million due in add-ons. Phillips was signed to compete for a midfield spot with Rodri and to fill the gap left by Fernandinho, who left the squad after nine years at the Etihad.
Nonetheless, the 28-year-old’s move from Elland Road didn’t go as planned. During the 2023-24 season, Phillips went on loan to West Ham United, but it was a brief stint. Then, this summer, he went out on loan to Ipswich Town as the player looks to get his career back on track.
Kalvin Phillips had an issue with Pep Guardiola
In a candid chat on BBC Sport’s My Mate’s a Footballer podcast, Phillips opened up about how manager Pep Guardiola’s comments about his weight after the World Cup in Qatar impacted his time at City and continued to shape his career even after he left the club.
“That narrative on social media just grew and grew,” Phillips said . “Every club that I’d go to, I spoke to, like the manager and the nutritionist and stuff like that, they’d always speak about weight before they’d say anything else. It peed me off a little bit. I was getting quite frustrated with it.”
Phillips also noted that Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna wants him to return to his Leeds days and be the player that made him a standout at Elland Road.
“The manager is an unbelievable person as well as a manager and he spoke about all the past in my career and told me he just wanted me to get to where I was at Leeds.”
It will be interesting to see if this loan stint with the Premier League newcomers is what Phillips needs to jumpstart his career because he’s in his prime years and should be playing the best football of his career, which could come with Ipswich.
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