Kalvin Phillips reveals Bielsa chat after Man City frustrations and Pep Guardiola ‘overweight’ jibe

West Ham loanee Kalvin Phillips has opened up on his struggles at Manchester City and revealed his frustration at how Pep Guardiola handled the “overweight” jibe aimed at the England star.

City forked out £42million to sign Phillips from Leeds United back in the summer of 2022  to sign Phillips, but despite being part of the club’s recent trophy success things have never gone to plan for the 28-year-old at the Etihad Stadium.

Phillips hardly featured at all for the reigning Premier League champions before moving to the London Stadium on loan in January, failing to dislodge Rodri from the starting line-up.

There were even times when Guardiola opted to play centre-back John Stones as another holding midfielder alongside Rodri as Phillips watched on from the bench.

One particular episode that caught the public eye during his time at City was when Guardiola indicated to reporters that Phillips return from the Qatar World Cup “overweight”.

Reflecting on the very public comment, Phillips admitted Guardiola was “right” but he pointed out that there were “different ways to go about it”.

“After the World Cup was probably the toughest when Pep came out and said I was overweight,” Phillips admitted during an interview with The Guardian.

“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 mum.”

He added: “It was just a misunderstanding and I think he was very frustrated with me coming back 1.5kg over my weight target.

“I just took it on the chin. Me being the right professional, I probably should have gone in the day after the tournament finished but it’s one of those things that you live and learn.”

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Phillips turns to Bielsa after City lowest point

Phillips also revealed that his “low point” for City came when he was at fault for Leicester’s goal in his side’s 3-1 victory back in April 2023, turning to his former Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa for some advice as a result.

“I just felt shit,” Phillips added. “It was probably the low-point, confidence-wise. I spoke to Bielsa afterwards.

“He called me back via a translator and we had a conversation for around half an hour.

“He said he’d watched every game I’d been involved in since I moved from Leeds and he told me what he thought I should do to become the player I was at Leeds.”

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Later in the interview, Phillips revealed that he now “feels a lot more alive” after his West Ham switch and his “stressful” period at The Etihad.

“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!” Phillips said.

“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.”