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Pep Guardiola looks on following Man City’s Club World Cup exit(Image: PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\nManchester City exited the FIFA Club World Cup at the last-16 stage earlier this weekPep Guardiola looks on following Man City’s Club World Cup exit(Image: PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
While Pep Guardiola will no doubt be pleased not to have to put his Manchester City<\/a> squad through an even more rigorous FIFA Club World Cup schedule, the exit at the last 16 stage didn\u2019t come without some significant drawbacks.<\/p>\n City were beaten 4-3 after extra time in the Orlando heat against Saudi Arabian Premier League<\/a> side Al-Hilal on Tuesday, with the defeat bringing the curtain down on the club\u2019s participation in a competition which has drawn criticism for adding to an already packed schedule for players.<\/p>\n On the back of a gruelling domestic season that saw them also have to contend with Champions League<\/a> football, additional workload for his squad before pre-season kicked off in earnest was acknowledged by the City boss when quizzed on Jurgen Klopp\u2019s criticisms of the competition last week, although he remained diplomatic about the club\u2019s involvement.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Man City stars pay tribute to Diogo Jota as football world in shock at Liverpool player’s death<\/a>READ MORE: Man City create fresh deadline for Kyle Walker and Jack Grealish transfers<\/a><\/p>\n He said: \u201cOnce we are here, we are proud. Many, many teams complain about these competitions because they are not here, otherwise they might love being here.<\/p>\n \u201cThey would have their media and supporters here, and there would be income to be here, and they would be happy to be here. Of course, it’s not an ideal situation for the manager.<\/p>\n \u201cWould I love to have two months to prepare for next season? Yes. Would I love to be refreshed for next season? Yes. But it is what it is. And we deserve what we have done in the past to be here. Once we are here, let’s do our best possible.\u201d<\/p>\n City\u2019s performance in the league phase of the competition, where they won all three of their games and had the benefit of coming from the region that had the biggest TV market pool, saw the club earn $51.7m (\u00a338m) in prize money, a sum significantly greater than what would have been achieved during a normal pre-season tour thanks to $1bn prize pot put up by FIFA as a carrot for teams to take it seriously.<\/p>\n The overall prize fund for winning seven games on the spin comes in at a whopping $125m (\u00a392m), which isn\u2019t too far off from the prize fund scooped by Paris Saint-Germain for winning the Champions League last season.<\/p>\n