Pep Guardiola has called on English football to scrap the League Cup after injuries to Marcus Rashford and Harry Kane in comments I can only imagine being taken completely differently had Arsene Wenger uttered them a few years ago.

SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 01: Jose Mourinho, Manager of Tottenham Hotspur embraces Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur as he walks off the pitch after picking up an injury during the Premier League match between Southampton FC and Tottenham Hotspur at St Mary's Stadium on January 01, 2020 in Southampton, United Kingdom. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)
SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 01: Jose Mourinho, Manager of Tottenham Hotspur embraces Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur as he walks off the pitch after picking up an injury during the Premier League match between Southampton FC and Tottenham Hotspur at St Mary’s Stadium on January 01, 2020 in Southampton, United Kingdom. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)

“With that number of games, players break down” Guardiola said. “I’m not surprised. I’m so sorry for Kane and Rashford.

“All the managers complained about it and they don’t care. A distance of two or three days again and again. The players suffer. They want to do well and the clubs have a lot of pressure to win or qualify for the Champions League and we push and push. The body says stop, it’s enough.

“Eliminate competitions, take out this competition [the Legue Cup]. Less games, less competitions, less teams, more quality, less quantity. People can live without football for a while. It’s too much.”

Now, he most certainly has a point.

Footballers do indeed play far too many games. What caught my attention about this was how, not once, did the Telegraph refer to Guardiola as a ‘whinger,’ something they regularly did when Arsene Wenger brought up issues in the game.

In fact, if you take a quick look, you’ll find that Guardiola is just about one of the moaniest managers who has ever worked in the game yet somehow does not have a reputation for being a whiny little baby as bad a Jose Mourinho.