Pep Guardiola jokingly claims Man City star has a ‘sexy’ body and reveals when Julian Alvarez will return

Pep Guardiola jokingly claimed Kalvin Phillips has the ‘perfect body’ after he returned to the Manchester City squad for Wednesday’s Premier League win over Leeds United.

The City manager said last week that Phillips was not fit enough to train having returned ‘overweight’ from England’s World Cup campaign. For that reason he was omitted from the City squad for the Carabao Cup game against Liverpool, but he was named on the substitutes’ bench for his much-anticipated return to Elland Road.

The Leeds fans amusingly chanted that their former midfielder was ‘too fat’ to play for the Yorkshire side as he warmed up on the touchline during the second half, with Phillips enjoying a chuckle with the supporters. Speaking after the game, Guardiola also made light of the situation, saying the 27-year-old had a ‘sexy’ body, before providing more clarity on his comments last week.

“He has the perfect body. So sexy,” the Catalan quipped. “We will see [if he’ll be fit for the weekend]. Kalvin had been in the first part of the season out, had surgery to arrive to the World Cup.

“He did everything to get to the World Cup. It’s not just about being fit. He has to understand what we want to do, the movements and many things, as quick as possible. Rodri cannot play all the games.

“I am happy that yesterday he trained really well and we are so happy for that and I am pretty sure sooner or later he will start to come in.”

Guardiola also revealed after the game that Julian Alvarez will return to the City squad ‘after New Year’s Eve’, and will therefore not be available for Saturday’s clash with Everton. The attacker was granted extra time away from the club following Argentina’s success at the World Cup in Qatar.