FORMER Manchester City star Bacary Sagna revealed Pep Guardiola cut the WiFi from the dressing room upon his arrival in 2016.
Sagna spent only one year playing under Guardiola but it was more than enough to make him understand what a great manager he truly is.
Pep Guardiola cut the WiFi in the dressing room when he joined Manchester CityPA
Bacary Sagna agrees with Guardiola’s strict rules at Man CityPA:Empics Sport
The Catalan tactician laid down the law from day one at the Etihad as he personally handled every last detail relating to his new team.
The Barcelona legend imposed severe repercussions for those who didn’t adhere to his fitness regimen, as anyone who was found to be even slightly overweight would be immediately axed from his squad.
The ex-Bayern Munich boss wouldn’t stop there as he also wanted to make sure his players were always completely focused at the task at hand.
Therefore, the 53-year-old knew he had to get rid of any potential distraction – and that is why he cut the WiFi in the dressing rooms.
At first Sagna was not really on board with that initiative as he felt he was being treated like a “child”.
However, the ex-Arsenal defender quickly understood how important that sort of discipline was as it led to all of his players adopting the “right mindset”.
And that is why the former full-back is not surprised City won the treble under Guardiola last season.
Sagna told Chris Wheatley at the Web Summit in Qatar: “Pep Guardiola, to me, is the reference as a coach, because you need to be very disciplined.
“You need to understand it’s not only on the pitch, it’s a whole life you need to adopt. It’s not only today.
“It’s about the nutrition you’re going to have all week – as an example, if you’re 1kg ahead of your weight you’re out of the team! You don’t train.
“He came to Man City and he cut the WiFi in the dressing room, so you become like a child.
“At first, it’s upsetting because you’re thinking I’m not a child… I’m 30 years old, I don’t need to go through all these routes.
“But then you understand why they won the treble last year, because everyone is kind of disciplined and everyone has the right mindset.
“And if you don’t have the right mindset in sports you might shine [for] one year [or] two years. But after a while you’ll be gone because to stay at a high level is very difficult for a long time.”