MANCHESTER, England -- Pep Guardiola insisted he was relaxed about Benjamin Mendy despite claims he was out partying until the early hours of Saturday morning before Manchester City's match with Fulham.
The
French defender, who has played just 27 minutes since injuring a knee
in November, was left out of the squad that travelled to London for
Saturday's Premier League clash.
But Mendy, who does not drink alcohol, was filmed at a nightclub in Manchester allegedly at 3:30 a.m. on Saturday morning, according to a video obtained by English newspaper the Daily Mirror.
"They
are old enough to know what they have to do, I'm not his father,"
Guardiola told a news conference ahead of the clash with Cardiff City.
"I would prefer him to go sleep earlier but I don't control the players
in that situation.
"I'm not frustrated. I'm a relaxed guy. It might not look like it but I sleep quite well."
Guardiola
confirmed that Mendy trained on Saturday and is available for
Wednesday's game against Cardiff that could see City return to the top
of the Premier League.
Mendy, 24, angered Guardiola earlier in the
season when he was three hours late for training after attending a
boxing match in London. Sources told ESPN FC that the City boss was annoyed by the Frenchman's lack of professionalism and the latest incident will not help his cause.
Mendy
has made just 20 appearances since his move from Monaco in the summer
of 2017, suffering a cruciate ligament injury in his first season and a
futher setback this season. The former Marseille defender is the only
recognised left-back at the club and City are considering bringing in a
new face when the transfer window opens this summer with Leicester
City's Ben Chilwell remaining a top target.
Meanwhile,
Guardiola has told his players and fans that there is no harm in
dreaming about a quadruple although he is under no illusions about how
difficult it would be to win three more trophies before the end of the
season.
"I'm not in the minds of my players and the fans to tell
them what to think. If they want to dream and think about winning
everything I'm not a guy to say anything," he added. "But from my
experience as a manager when you're distracted about other situations --
at 8 p.m. I just want you to focus and play good to win the game.
"Why
should you [talk about] the quadruple when in this country -- a
legendary country -- it has never happened before. Legendary teams like
Liverpool, the period [for Manchester United] with Sir Alex Ferguson,
Jose Mourinho and Chelsea, Arsene Wenger with Arsenal -- no one did it.
So why should we do it?"
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