Premier League: Pep Guardiola could miss Manchester City’s pre-season due to quarantine requirements

The Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is likely to miss most of his club’s pre-season, after photos of him in Barcelona emerged on social media on Saturday.

According to the government guidelines in the UK, people travelling from Spain are required to self-isolate for 14 days.

It is not yet known when Pep Guardiola will return to Manchester, but provided he leaves tonight, he will not be allowed to report to City’s training complex until September 11 at the earliest. The Premier League season is scheduled to start on September 12.

However, Manchester City’s first match is only on September 21 when they face Wolves in an away game.

Much of the Manchester City squad including the manager Pep Guardiola had gone on a holiday after the Premier League side were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League by Olympique Lyonnais in the quarter-final stage.

Some of the players are also involved in international commitments over the coming week, and most of the Manchester City squad are only likely to report at Etihad in the second week of September.

Will Lionel Messi move to Etihad?

Pep Guardiola’s trip to Barcelona, where is said to be on a holiday and visiting his close family and friends, has also set rumours ablaze that the visit could be linked to Lionel Messi’s move to Manchester City.

It is well-known that Pep Guardiola, who had managed Lionel Messi for a long duration at the La Liga side Barcelona has been interested in getting his protégé to the Premier League.

Earlier this week, Messi said he wanted to invoke a contract clause that allowed him to leave at the end of last season, but the club said the clause had already expired.

Spanish media on Saturday confirmed that Messi has contacted the club to try to resolve the situation, but the Barcelona club said that it will not negotiate to allow the Argentina great to depart before his contract ends next year.