La Liga president, Javier Tebas: “The Premier League shouldn't give in to pressure, right? Man City is just another club, and when you lead an association, you have to act.

"The Premier League shouldn't differentiate between big or small, important and ‘non-important’, clubs.

"Man City is a member of the association that has committed irregularities and should receive the sanction it deserves. If not, the competition's authority will be lost..."

La Liga president, Javier Tebas: "There are more than 115 accusations. I don't know everything, but I know what happened regarding Man City’s UEFA case, and quite well. Let's not forget UEFA sanctioned Man City by not allowing them to compete in the UCL..."

Javier Tebas: “Then CAS, in a very controversial decision, acquitted them instead of accusing. That was one of the biggest failures in the history of CAS on a legal issue. It was demonstrated [by UEFA] they should've been sanctioned and some charges are now pursued by the PL..."

Javier Tebas: "Everyone knows how Man City has acted in recent years. I hope it's just a matter of evidence, and the PL know how to prove it - the facts are clear. I've spoken with many Premier League clubs and most understand Man City should be sanctioned..." [via JacobsBen]

And so it begins... 🔄

T-minus 2️⃣ days.

BREAKING: Man City kit man, Brandon Ashton has announced he is leaving the club.

Ashton: “After 15 years at Manchester City I have decided to leave my role at the club to explore other career paths.

I have had some great experiences, met some amazing people who I know will be friends for life. For me and my family I feel it is the right time to start a new chapter, and see what new challenges I can be set.

I will always hold Manchester City close to my heart as this club has brought me from a boy to a man. The memories I have over my time at City will forever be cherished.

I want to thank all the players, management and back room staff I have worked with and also the fans I have had the pleasure to converse with over the years.

“I wish the lads nothing but the best this season and in the future. Brandon”

🩵

A source has confirmed @Real_Madrid are interested in Rodri. However, they know how much he has been offered by Man City and have no intention of matching it, and do not think they could afford the transfer fee Man City would demand.

@Real_Madrid are willing to wait for the outcome of Man City’s 115 charges brought against them by the Premier League. Madrid’s thinking is if Man City are found guilty and receive a major punishment, there may be an opportunity to make a move for Rodri.

Pep Guardiola on the new UCL format: “Win our first game, and the second one, and see what happens in the last games to take a look - it's like in the Premier League; it's not necessary to look at the table right now. It will be in the future!

Our games at home in the UCL, we have to try and take the points, otherwise anything can happen!”

Pep Guardiola on the 2023 UCL final: “It was nice, a tight game, the first-half was much, much better than the second-half. After the goal, we had one clear chance from Phil [Foden], they had two clear, clear chances. The coin was on our side, it could've gone the other side.”

Pep Guardiola on Inter: “It was a good team in that moment [the UCL final in 2023], it's a really good team now. A good manager, Simone [Inzaghi] knows how to make good moments. In Italy, they've been the best.”

Pep Guardiola: “Inter have many UCL [titles], we have just one.”

Pep Guardiola: “ManCity have to adjust something, because for the way they [Inter] attack it's difficult to control.”

Pep Guardiola on Kevin De Bruyne this season: "It's the same with Erling and all the comments after the games; there are a lot of games. Of course, they started really well, come back good, help us in the PL games, the competitions that we have, but we'll see.

His mood is good and he's playing in a good level.”

Pep Guardiola: “We have [Ilkay] Gundo back, and other players, but Phil’s position better is there [in the middle]. But when everyone is fit, the competition is tough. I want to rotate, but they have to prove when I rotate that they are ready to play.”

Pep Guardiola on Inter: “A historical team, incredible mentality, they are built to win every single game, they are created to win competitions, in the last years they won a lot, and that means the mindset of the players is, 'I'm able to do it!' It's quite similar to us.”

Pep Guardiola on whether Lautaro Martinez could win the Ballon d’ Or: “Why not? I'd rather a Man City player won that accolade. But he's a sensational player; he won World Cup and South American Cup with Argentina. Inter has a lot of good players.”

Rodri on his Ballon d’Or hopes: “To be honest, I'm very, very happy for everything that happened to me in the last years, winning what Man City won and winning the Euros with my country is just a dream! It's a consequence of the hard work, consistency, and never giving up.”

Rodri: “I really feel right now that people are recognizing my work and trying to push me to win the Ballon d’Or. It's not something I think about, to be honest. It would be a dream, of course, because I never thought I could arrive at this stage, this moment.”

Rodri: “I know I play a different role to most players that are nominated for the Ballon d’Or, but it's also shows that football can be beautiful in different views. You can be beautiful as a midfielder, or scoring goals, or being a defender.”

Rodri on the expanded football schedule: “From my experience, I can tell you that 60, or 70 games, NO! I think between 40 and 50 games is the amount a player can perform at the highest level, after that you drop, because it's impossible to sustain the physical level.

In my humble opinion, I think it's too much. I think we have to take care of ourselves, someone has to take care of ourselves, because we are the main characters of this sport, or business, or whatever you want to call it.”

Rodri: “Not everything is money or marketing, it's also the quality of the show. In my opinion, when I'm resting, when I'm not tired, I perform better. If the people want to see better football, we need to rest!

When the amount of games starts getting bigger, the performance and quality of the games gets lower.”