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Pep Guardiola has told José Mourinho to speak to England’s medical department after the Tottenham manager hinted that Manchester City had pressured the Football Association to remove Raheem Sterling from the Three Lions’ service.
Sterling joined Gareth Southgate’s side for the final international break, but suffered an injury and the winger returned to City without playing a game. However, he returned to training with City on Friday and could appear at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday.
Three members of Mourinho’s Tottenham played at least two games during the international break, with Harry Kane playing more than 70 minutes of the Three Lions UEFA Nations League clash against Iceland.
Mourinho has told Southgate to name the coaches who are pressuring him to leave his players out of the England team and hinted that Guardiola could be the culprit, saying “of course we all know that Sterling is going to play.”
But Guardiola responded to those accusations and told Mourinho to speak to City and England medical teams if he wanted to verify the extent of Sterling’s injury.
“Mourinho has to talk to the England team doctor and Manchester City doctor,” the City manager said.
“He has to go to the doctors for the national team and Manchester City. Except maybe Mourinho is a doctor, I don’t know.”
Mourinho had also accused the City players of jumping in earlier this month, saying the City, United and Liverpool players are “smart guys where someone blows them and they’re on the ground.”
But Guardiola was not drawn to that statement and was willing not to reignite a feud with Mourinho that dates back to his La Liga days.
“Hey, I’m not going to answer anything about José,” Guardiola said. “I told the doctor because he accused us of something we have done that is not true. You have to talk to the doctors about these other things, don ‘”. Do not ask me “.
By hinting that Guardiola had played a role in keeping Sterling away from England’s three games this month, Mourinho highlighted the case of Eric Dier, who returned from international duty last month and missed Spurs action.
“Gareth Southgate, I read, allegedly said that some club managers pressure players not to play for the national team. And that is why sometimes he feels the need to call the club leaders to calm his emotions and control a difficult situation for him, ”said Mourinho.
“I would like you to say who. I would like you to say which are the coaches that pressure players not to play. And I’d like you to say which coaches you call and talk to on the phone with. You have the right, the power to call the players you want.
“He wants to win games, especially after a loss, even being a dead rubber is an important game. I totally sympathize with that.
“Of course we all know that Sterling is going to play (against Tottenham). When Eric Dier left the national team injured last month, he did not play two games for Tottenham.
“He did not play the Premier League match and the Europa League match. It took him a couple of weeks to recover. And Raheem will play tomorrow (Saturday).
These are the little details that I think Gareth should explain to all of us. But apart from that, I totally support him that in a country like England where you always have to respect the shirt and the Three Lions, that he plays with the players he wants to play ”.
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