Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is worried that the club’s two-year Champions League ban will affect his players who may want to leave to seek participation in European competitions, ESPN reports.
Guardiola, however, wants to remain at the club “as long as he is happy,” the source said.
UEFA announced on Friday that the reigning Premier League champions will be excluded from European competition for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 campaigns and have also been fined €30 million ($33 million) for “overstating its sponsorship revenue in its accounts” and failing “to cooperate in the investigation,” according to findings by the UEFA Adjudicatory Chamber.
In response, City said they were “disappointed but not surprised” by the ruling and gave notice of their intention to lodge an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The source said Guardiola knew the club would be informed of the ban on Friday morning but that he remains calm as the club prepares its appeal.
Nonetheless, Guardiola understands why some players would want to leave should they face the prospect of not playing in European competition, according to the source.
