Pep Guardiola agrees with Jurgen Klopp over new five substitutions rule
Posted by  badge Boss on Apr 01, 2022 - 03:33PM
Pep Guardiola will be able to make five substitutions in the Premier League from next year (Photo: Matt Mcnulty/Manchester City FC via Getty Images)

manager has joined his Liverpool counterpart in welcoming the introduction of the five substitutions rule to the Premier League.

On Thursday, it was officially confirmed that the rule would be returning after it was temporarily bought in during the league’s restart following the first COVID-19 lockdown in 2020.

A statement from the Premier League said: ‘Clubs agreed to change the rules relating to substitute players. From next season, clubs will be permitted to use five substitutions, to be made on three occasions during a match, with an additional opportunity at half-time. A total of nine substitutes can be named on the team sheet.’

Both Jurgen Klopp and Guardiola have advocated for the five subs rule for a long time (Photo: John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

The football community has often been divided on the topic with advocates for it citing the intense and overcrowded schedule being unhealthy for players, whilst opponents claim that the rule would only really benefit richer teams who have larger and more in-depth squads.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of the Citizens’ game at Burnley on Saturday, Guardiola was adamant that the change was for the better.

He said: ‘It’s not healthy for the players when they play this amount of games in all competitions. Not healthy for anyone. It’s a new opportunity the managers will have.

‘When you can make more substitutions, the players can avoid getting injured more than usual and more people can be involved, you can rotate the team more, you can involve more players who deserve to play.

‘It [five subs] is a normal thing all around the world and finally we are doing it in the Premier League.’

The City boss has been a vocal supporter of the rule for some time, as has his fierce rival Klopp who echoed Guardiola’s words in his own pre-match press conference.

The Reds boss said: ‘It is top news for football and top news for the players. We have all spoken about it, that the games won’t get less.

‘With all the things we know we try to help the players as much as we can but the games are always the most intense and everything we could do we should do.’

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