Kalvin Phillips says Pep Guardiola ‘overweight’ comment was the ‘toughest moment’ of his career - and reveals his mum was fuming with Man City boss

Phillips was a bit-part player during his time at City and made just 31 appearances for the treble winners, with just two starts coming in the Premier League. He has now lifted the lid on his lowest moment at the club - when Guardiola publicly claimed he could not train because he had returned from the Qatar World Cup "overweight", leaving both the midfielder and his family distraught.

He told The Times: “After the World Cup was probably the toughest [moment], when Pep came out and said I was overweight. He was right to do so, but there are different ways to go about it. I did not disagree with him, but obviously I took a big knock on my confidence and how I felt at City. And my family were not happy about it either, especially my mum.”

He added: “She got frustrated when I was at City, she didn’t come to watch as much."

Phillips sealed a loan move to West Ham in January and he has already made two appearances, although his Hammers career got off to a woeful start, as he made a dismal mistake that led to a goal within two minutes of his debut.

West Ham are next in action against Arsenal on Sunday and Phillips will be out to make an impression. They then face Nottingham Forest in the Premier League next weekend.