Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Manchester City, FIFA Club World Cup, Pep Guardiola
Josh Lawless
Manchester City's Club World Cup squad is yet to be released but it's emerged that one player will not be part of the travelling party.
City, who are the defending champions after winning the trophy in December 2023, are one of the 12 European teams participating in the revamped Club World Cup tournament in the United States.
Pep Guardiola's men have been placed in Group G alongside Juventus, Al Ain of the UAE and Morocco side Wydad AC and will kick off their campaign on 18 June.
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Clubs are expected take their strongest squads and Real Madrid have paid a £8.4 million fee to Liverpool so that Trent Alexander-Arnold can play in all of their games.
City are looking to add new recruits in time for the showpiece but on Friday it came to light that midfielder James McAtee will not be heading across the pond.
In a squad update on Friday, England confirmed that McAtee had been added to the Under 21s' pre-Euro training squad at St George's Park prior to the tournament in Slovakia.
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The squad will be officially announced on June 6 but with McAtee in line to feature, he is therefore not going to be at the Club World Cup.
Jack Gaughan of the Daily Mail weighed in and said that the development "probably signals the end of his time at Man City".
In a second post Gaughan added that 20-year-old Rico Lewis will be going to the Club World Cup instead of the Euros having still been eligible.
McAtee came through the City academy and after two loan spells with Sheffield United, the club had permanent offers for him last summer.
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Guardiola wanted the 22-year-old to be part of his squad, calling him a "special guy" and a player he has a "high opinion" of.
He stayed put to make 34 appearances and score seven goals - though he did not complete a full 90 minutes in the Premier League.
Out of contract in 2026, the Catalan still wants McAtee to remain at the Etihad Stadium but acknowledged his lack of minutes potentially leading him to moving on permanently.
"For the age, I’d like him to stay," Guardiola said in April.
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"But I understand the players want more minutes. I would like him to stay, he’s a player for the academy, he knows the patterns.
"He’s a lovely person and trained really good. He can play different positions but I don’t know how the squad will be and we will see."