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Topics: Pep Guardiola, Manchester City, Kalvin Phillips, England
Jack Kenmare
Topics: Pep Guardiola, Manchester City, Kalvin Phillips, England
Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips has opened up about Pep Guardiola's "overweight" comment in a recent interview.
Back in December, Guardiola dropped the England international for their Carabao Cup clash against Liverpool after he returned from the World Cup in "no condition to do training sessions and play".
The Spaniard added: "He's not injured - he arrived overweight, I don't know [why]."
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Phillips, who barely featured for England at last winter's tournament, struggled with injuries last season after his £45 million move from Leeds and played just two full games in the Premier League.
Ahead of the new campaign, Phillips' struggles over the past year will soon be documented in a 90-minute film on Amazon Prime titled: 'Kalvin Phillips: The Road to City'.
The documentary is described as an underdog story about one of England’s most promising footballers, who rose from the Leeds academy to captain the club and now plays for the current European champions.
As well as painting "an intimate portrait of a footballer with deep roots and family values", the show will follow his journey to Premier League champions Manchester City and the dramatic injury ahead of last winter's World Cup.
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Phillips also says the film will feature some context behind Guardiola's comments about his weight.
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live ahead of its premiere on July 19, he said: "To be honest, it was a little hard to take [the criticism], just because of how much it was oversized and how many people started talking about it.
"I know the manager made his comments but I respected them."
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The 27-year-old added: "I, for me, wasn't overweight, but obviously the manager saw it in a different way. I took it, did my best to try and get as fit as possible and I was on the bench for the Leeds game straight after that. I was fit for every game since then.
"It was just one of those things where it was a misunderstanding between me and some staff members. You will see a lot more of it in the documentary and how I got into it all."
The one-off special film will also highlight how Phillips balances his domestic and national aspirations, as well as the adversities he has overcome to represent his home country.