Pep Guardiola says “unethical” team selection leaks by players can’t be controlled

"It’s incredibly unethical and unprofessional but you cannot control everything..."

Pep Guardiola has suggested the issue of players leaking team selection details is a part of football that is difficult to control, despite being "incredibly unethical". The topic has recently been thrust into the headlines after reports that Jack Grealish's injury may have been inadvertently leaked to club outsiders by Aston Villa players and staff via their Fantasy Premier League selections. Villa boss Dean Smith vowed he would deal with the issue after his side's defeat to Leicester at the weekend. A club source has since revealed the players have now been banned from playing FPL. Speaking ahead of his Manchester City side's return to Champions League action this week, Guardiola admitted he was unfamiliar with the concept of FPL, but added that players leaking team selections to friends at rival clubs sometimes happened.

"I know the players play these games but I don’t know what fantasy football is," he said. "I’ve never played it and I heard it for the first time yesterday on Sky.

"Sometimes you make a team selection and players are friends with other teams and they talk about what you do.

"Sometimes it happens, it’s incredibly unethical and unprofessional but you cannot control everything."

City head to Hungary to face Borussia Mönchengladbach on Wednesday night with a quadruple still achievable. Having opened up a ten-point lead at the Premier League summit, a 19th consecutive wins in all competitions will see them take a step closer to the Champions League quarter-finals.