Kalvin Phillips explains impact of Pep Guardiola weight comments – ‘It peed me off’

Pep Guardiola’s remarks about Kalvin Phillips’ weight have left the England midfielder feeling “peed off” with other clubs. The-28 year-old was irked that his weight has become a focal point during discussions with potential suitors following Guardiola’s comments after the 2022 World Cup.

The Manchester City manager had suggested that Phillips returned from Qatar overweight, a stigma that has since followed him. And Phillips – who is currently on loan at Ipswich Town from City – has revealed current boss Kieran McKenna also prioritises body composition, as did previous managers like Guardiola and Marcelo Bielsa.

Speaking on the My Mate’s A Footballer podcast (via The Mirror) alongside former Leeds team-mate Patrick Bamford, he discussed how Guardiola’s public criticism had a domino effect. And not of the good kind given the effect Guardiola’s comments had on him, both on a professional and person level.

“You probably heard about the time when Pep came out and said that I was overweight after the World Cup and stuff,” he said. “And I think that narrative on social media just kind of grew and grew. Every club that I’d go to, I spoke to, like the manager and the nutritionist and stuff like that, they’d always speak about weight before they’d say anything else.

“And it got to the point where it peed me off a little bit. I was getting quite frustrated with it, but then now I’ve come to Ipswich like the manager’s an unbelievable person as well as a manager. And, you know, we spoke about all my past stuff that happened in my career and stuff like that.

“And he kind of just said I’m big on body composition and I just want you to get to where you was when you left Leeds or when you was at Leeds. And I think that’ll give us a good starting point for you to push on and hopefully get back, back to where you was.”

Phillips wasn’t the only one expected to lose a bit of timber at Leeds, but Bamford touched upon how Bielsa was “harshest on Kalv” because he felt he had more to gain. And the diet regime was strict, forcing Phillips to go some evenings with just a protein shake for dinner before repeating the process the next day.

The Yorkshireman found more emphasis on his weight at the Etihad, though Guardiola has at least apologised for commenting publicly on the matter. The midfielder has opened up about the struggles he’s faced in football and life since that saga, confessing in the past that it’s affected his confidence.

“Yeah, I’m sorry. Once in eight years is not bad,” said Guardiola this past February. “But I’m so sorry. I apologise to him. I spoke to him before [making the comment]. I never, ever don’t speak to the team before I say something here, or the player in that case.”

Podcast host Joe Wilkinson light-heartedly remarked on Phillips’ militant diet, joking he’d be upset if he was “not allowed choc ices again.” The dietary situation under McKenna at least seems to be effective as he made a significant contribution to Ipswich Town’s 2-2 draw with Aston Villa last weekend and is hoping to prove instrumental in their drive for Premier League survival.