Pep Guardiola wants Champions League rule change after drawing Real Madrid again

Pep Guardiola has questioned the format of the expanded Champions League after Manchester City were drawn to face Real Madrid despite meeting in the league phase

Pep Guardiola has described the new Champions League format as ‘weird’ after learning Manchester City will play Real Madrid again in the last 16 – just months after beating them in the league phase.

City, who won the competition for the first time back in 2023, have now played the Spanish giants in various stages of the Champions League for five successive years. The new extended format, which was implemented two years ago, fails to prevent teams who faced off in the initial league phase meeting in the first knockout round.

That means City and Real will meet again just a little over two months since Guardiola‘s team were victorious at the Bernabeu.

And the former Barcelona head coach has suggested that the competition should tweak the rules to ensure teams who meet in the league phase are kept apart in the last 16.

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“Yes, it is a little bit weird [to face Real Madrid again],” he said. “Not many times does it happen that the last game of the group stage — Real Madrid v Benfica — is the first draw. It looks different. People will agree or disagree, but it is different.”

When he was asked if UEFA should change the rules, Guardiola replied: “Why not? How many times have we played against ­Newcastle this season [the Premier League clubs meet in the FA Cup next weekend, having already contested a two-legged Carabao Cup semi- final]? Hopefully we can play against them in the [Champions League] final!

“Today is different. When I started, it was eight, nine, ten teams, they want to increase a lot with the schedule and calendar. It is a question of adapting. What can we do?”

The teams still alive and kicking in the tournament now know their prospective routes to the final, which will be held at the end of May in Budapest.

But Guardiola refuted claims that Manchester City are on the more challenging side of the draw, saying: “[It] would be so disrespectful [to], for example, Newcastle, Barcelona, top teams, Atletico Madrid or Spurs. So I’m not a fan of that [saying it’s the easier half of the draw].

“The Champions League is so ­difficult. I’m not saying Madrid is not difficult, everybody knows it, but the rest of the teams that you play, I don’t know, you can name me any team, all of them, they have the ‘trick’. If you want to go through in this competition right now, you have to win against the best teams, otherwise you don’t deserve it.”

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