Guardiola Expresses Pride Over Rodri’s Ballon d’Or Win

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola addressed reporters ahead of Wednesday’s Carabao Cup fixture against Tottenham, scheduled for a 20:15 GMT kick-off. The following are the main points from his press conference: Guardiola stated that Rodri’s Ballon d’Or victory represents “incredible news for him, for all of us and for our fans who are so proud of him”. Further commenting on Rodri, Guardiola added: “Hopefully it can give him energy to recover well and to be with us next season again. We are going to play this season without the best player in the world.” He expressed his desire for Manchester City to advance to the subsequent round of the Carabao Cup by defeating Tottenham, hoping they “perform well with no injuries, please”. Guardiola defended Erling Haaland’s decision to attend a match involving his friend at Malmo rather than the awards ceremony in Paris, asserting that it “is no problem at all”. Addressing Manchester United’s dismissal of Erik ten Hag on Monday and the inherent pressures of managing a football club, Guardiola remarked: “If you decide to be manager then you have to understand it. Our job is unfortunately about getting results. It is a business and managers know it. I have incredible support from our hierarchy but if the results were no good then I wouldn’t be here.”