Kalvin Phillips‘ time with Manchester City didn’t go to plan, as the English international was sent to West Ham on loan this season. Only a year and a half ago, he joined Pep Guardiola‘s team for £42 million.
The former Leeds United star recently sat down for an interview with The Observer, explaining how his confidence went downhill after Guardiola said he was overweight when the midfielder came back from Qatar 2022.
“After the World Cup was probably the toughest, when Pep came out and said I was overweight. He was right to do so but there are different ways to go about it. I did not disagree with him but obviously I took a big knock on my confidence and how I felt at City. And my family were not happy about it, either. Especially my mom,” Phillips said.
The 28-year-old added there was a misunderstanding with Pep in regard to his return date from the World Cup. While Phillips understood the club authorized him to have days off, Guardiola seemed to want him immediately after England‘s participation ended. Besides, Phillips added he was just 1.5kg over his weight.
Kalvin Phillips of Manchester City looks on from the substitutes bench prior to a Premier League match.
“I never got that information because if he asked me to have been there, I would have been there,” Phillips said. “It was just a misunderstanding and I think he was very frustrated with me coming back 1.5kg over my weight target.”
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Phillips enjoying more playing time at West Ham
A loan move seems all Phillips needed to start enjoying the game again. While he only made six starts for just 380 Premier League minutes in a year and a half at City, the midfielder has already made three appearances in his first month at West Ham.
“Over the last 18 months … I still loved the game, it just changed my way of thinking a little bit. The game wasn’t letting me down but the fact I had nothing to look forward to kind of pushed me away. Now I’m here at West Ham and playing, I feel a lot more alive. It’s not starting from scratch, it’s starting afresh,” he said.
Phillips was part of a Manchester City squad that won the treble last season, but he barely saw the field throughout the campaign. Therefore, as exciting as winning the Premier League, Champions League, and FA Cup in the same season could be, he was not so thrilled about watching all the action from the sidelines.
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“It wasn’t a nightmare at City, it was just stressful. We won the treble. But when you’re sat on the bench, you don’t feel like it’s your medal to take, although they can’t take them away from me so I’m happy about that!,” he said.
