Pep Guardiola threatens to quit as Manchester City manager in tense row over squad size

Despite suffering from injury problems throughout this season, Guardiola remains committed to his philosophy of managing a smaller group of players rather than having squad members left out of matchday selections.

"I said to the club I don't want that [a bigger squad]," Guardiola said. "I don't want to leave five or six players in the freezer. I don't want that. I will quit. Make a shorter squad, I will stay."

The Spaniard explained it goes against his principles to have players consistently missing out on matchday squads.

"It's impossible for my soul to [tell] my players in the tribune that they cannot play," he added, making clear his stance is non-negotiable ahead of the summer transfer window.

The issue of squad size has come to the fore after several players missed out on City's recent matchday squad against Bournemouth. Abdukodir Khusanov, Savinho, James McAtee, Claudio Echeverri and Rico Lewis were all left out of the 20-player selection.

JUST IN: Gary Lineker facing police investigation into anti-Semitic post on social media as BBC fallout continues

City are looking to rebuild an ageing team this summer, with several senior players potentially following Kevin De Bruyne, who played his final home game for the club in Tuesday's win over Bournemouth.

After a season plagued by injuries, finding the right balance in squad numbers presents a significant challenge.

READ MORE: Kevin De Bruyne misses ‘terrible’ sitter in final Manchester City home game: ‘No excuses!’

Despite the injury problems suffered this season, Guardiola insists he would rather utilise academy players than maintain an oversized squad.

"If I have injuries, unlucky, we have some players for the academy and we do it," he said.

LATEST SPORTS NEWS:

• Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis displays moment of sportsmanship as Olympiacos land glory
• Ange Postecoglou hits out at reporter who branded him a 'clown' in spiky Europa League press conference
• Novak Djokovic announces new coaches after Andy Murray split ahead of Roland Garros and Wimbledon

This stance means City will need to trim their squad before bringing in any new faces during the upcoming transfer window.

Guardiola believes an oversized squad damages team cohesion, adding: "[We] cannot sustain for the emotion of the club, the soul of the team, [to] create another connection with each other that this season we lost it a bit."

City needed a win against Bournemouth to keep Champions League qualification in their own hands, with a draw at Fulham on Sunday likely to be sufficient. Omar Marmoush opened the scoring before Bernardo Silva doubled the lead before half-time.

Both sides were reduced to ten men when Mateo Kovacic and Lewis Cook were sent off in quick succession. Nico Gonzalez added a third for City late on, with Daniel Jebbison scoring a stoppage-time consolation for Bournemouth in the 3-1 result.