Frenchman Samir Nasri has revealed how one of Pep Guardiola’s first acts as Manchester City manager was to ban every player from having sex after midnight — even if they were off the next day.
Nasri left Manchester City to join Sevilla on loan in August after managing just 15 minutes of Premier League football under the new manager at the Etihad Stadium.
Although the former Arsenal star spent little time working with the ex-Bayern Munich and Barcelona boss, there was one clear instruction issued to the squad that he has not forgotten.
And perhaps it is just as well the Frenchman got out while he did after he told French publication, L’Equipe, that Guardiola imposed the ban on sexual relations in order to get the best out of them whilst also taking a number of things off the menu at the training ground.
“Relations must be before midnight. Even if you have a free day the following day,” Nasri said.
“It’s so you can have a good night’s sleep.”
“He told us this is how he managed to get the best out of [Lionel] Messi and [Robert] Lewandowski, and for them to avoid the maximum number of muscular injuries.”
“He suppressed many things that were in the kitchen.”
The former Arsenal midfielder went on to say that Guardiola’s attention to detail went beyond anything he had seen, describing him as a ‘picky person’ after he was subjected to incessant video analysis of his performances in training.
“With Guardiola, on the first day of training, you know how you should play, how to squeeze and also how to stand off the ball,” he said.
“The next day, you have videos for everything that you have to do.”
“He will not bully you, but he will do everything to make you progress, to get you to know how to position yourself and how to play. He’s a picky person.”
While Guardiola’s ban may have worked a treat in the opening few weeks of the Premier League, he may well be reconsidering his position after a recent dip in form.
The Citizens have won only two of their last nine games and have dropped to third in the Premier League table. Although it is worth noting that one of those wins was against his former side, Barcelona.