Pep Guardiola Man City request denied as Premier League make major announcement

Pep Guardiola has had a request denied which he fears will impact Manchester City.

The Premier League has officially released its dates for the 2025/26 season. The opening match will kick off on Saturday 16 August 2025 with the final round being played on Sunday 24 May 2026.

There have been recent complaints from players regarding increased playtime. City midfielder Rodri had warned that players were close to going on strike due to their lack of opportunities to rest. This is especially prevalent for a club like City who could play a maximum amount of 76 games this season.

With the new schedule, the league have said that they put a focus on more rest time for players around the festive period. Christmas and New Years is the busiest time for football.

City will play eight games in December alone. However, the League have said that no two rounds will take place within 60 hours of each other.

Although this shows that the Premier League has listened to clubs and players, a request made by Guardiola in a press conference has been denied.

The Spaniard wanted City's first matches of next season to be postponed due to their involvement in the Club World Cup. The FIFA lead tournament would end on 13 July in New Jersey meaning the players would then have four or five weeks before the 2025/26 begins.

"The Premier League has not allowed us to postpone the first two games for our recovery," said Guardiola last month. "Thank you so much.

"I think the club asked the league to postpone one or two or three weeks so we can have a holiday after the [Club] World Cup bit it is absolutely not allowed.

"The Premier League say yes to us? No. Absolutely not."

Although it is reported there was no official request from the club, it was a vocal plea from Guardiola. The likelihood of City kicking off the new campaign even before the Premier League's set start date is high.

Guardiola's team has featured in the Community Shield in six out of the last seven seasons. This match is played one week before the start of the season, further shortening City's potential rest time.

Although it may seem a simple idea just to use a younger squad at the Club World Cup, FIFA has told all clubs involved, which includes Chelsea, they must use their strongest available squads. The league can only do so much as they have no say over international competitions.