Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola appeared at a press conference to talk about the match against Wydad Athletic Club in the first round of the group stage of the FIFA Club World Cup.

The coach said: "This is the start of the new season, sports and life, what happened in the past, whether good or bad - it's about that, we start the season. This is our feeling."

He added: "I try to bring people together to help us, not just me, but the team, in the pursuit of victory. There was an opportunity for Pep Linders and James French, the new assistants, and Kolo Toure was already in the Manchester City under-18 team, and we saw him working, and he has a great reference, these people will help us have a good season..."

He continued: "Will you visit Tunisia in the future? Yes, we are lucky because we have traveled around the world for many years through football, and sometimes during holidays, and of course, I am absolutely sure that it is a great place to go..."

He continued: "Today, football has grown all over the world... I will give an example of Riyad Mahrez, from Algeria, oh my God! What a player! In North Africa, they have amazing skills, in the last World Cup, I believe Morocco had an amazing tournament. I have a great respect, the quality of African players has always been present, not just in terms of physical fitness, but also in terms of the skills they possess. I have a great respect for them... look how many African players - from the north or south - are already playing in Europe in big clubs! There are many!" This means they are really great players...".

About the Wydad team: "We have watched some videos of them, we saw how strong they are physically and their ability to attack from the back, but we have a game plan, we are here to present a good tournament, and tomorrow we will start."

Regarding the weather: "We arrived in Philadelphia and we haven't seen the sun, as it happened during these four or five days in Boca Raton - a great place, humid, but the sea breeze is teasing us. We trained excellently, and the players after training feel completely free - they are having a good time together, the United States has - I don't know how many sports - just look at the universities and how they take care of development, and innovate different sports, and then you can choose."

About Grealish's future: "I don't know. We decided not to come here [to the FIFA Club World Cup] now, and I don't know what will happen. In the end, if we don't find him a club, he will be a Manchester City player and will return with us, I don't know any news about Everton's interest in Kyle Walker, his situation is like Grealish, you have to ask the sporting director about these matters."

He said: "Will City sign new players? I don't know, I don't think so... I am very happy [with the new arrivals], they all have high quality, but the club believes - alongside our opinions as a technical and administrative staff - in what we need, and they provide it. With this huge number of matches we play, every three or four days over 11 months, everyone will participate."

He noted: "I don't know how far we will go [in the FIFA Club World Cup], but everyone will participate. Some players will play more than others, but everyone will participate because that is how the season should be. In the last part of the season, the last month when we exited the Champions League, the weeks were very long and it was difficult to rotate players, but these players play 11 months every three or four days, and when we rest a little as coaches, they go to the national team."

He continued: "Look at Silva and Ruben Dias, they played in the Nations League, a day or two and they are already back here. Non-stop. And when we finish this tournament, I don't know when, we will have a few days and then we go back again and the Premier League starts. That’s why I am happy to have these players, and I hope they help us adapt, and adapt as quickly as possible."

About the team leaders: "I am the coach, and for the first time in my career, I decided who will be the team captain, I didn't like what happened last season, and I decided this season who will represent the team, I decided this season to choose the team leaders, sometimes I want to be the leader... and this season I decided that. So I chose the four leaders, and at the end of the round, and this FIFA Club World Cup, perhaps we will choose one or two more leaders..."

He added: "I am lucky! All the assistants I have worked with in my career, oh my God! They have all helped me incredibly, I have been very lucky... They have made me a better coach, and I am absolutely sure that Kolo [Toure], especially Pep, will help me. In the end, it’s about exchange; I drain his knowledge, and every day since we met, we talk a lot about tactics, football, and training - it has been very inspiring. I am very happy, and we will see what happens in the future..."

He concluded: "It is a World Cup; this means participation of 32 teams from different continents, to represent their countries or continents, and share their football together. This is what this world should be like, unfortunately, this does not happen often with the many wars that await us, and this always happens because we think or pretend that we are better than others. We are not special, we are similar. Each of us has a mother and a father. Our skin color or place of birth does not define us. No one, nor any of us in this room, decides or chooses or participates in the date of their birth. Nothing, education alone can save us, and the World Cup is a wonderful opportunity for us to understand that we all come here together, to show who we are in the best way, we play the sport we love, and we support both teams from different continents and places, and this is what we should be around the world. We hope this World Cup helps people understand that...