Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola insists Jack Grealish's absence from the season finale against Fulham is "nothing personal" and is purely a tactical choice.

When Manchester City announced the squad, Grealish was not included in the squad, which attracted attention from the outside world. Guardiola said before the game that this was just a "tactical choice", and reiterated this position in an interview at Craven Cottage after the game: "In the past month, one and a half months, I have had to keep five or six players at home in every game. This time I chose these people, that's all. I don't have any other reason."

"Of course, Jack needs games, that's true. He's a fantastic player and should be playing every three days. But this season, he hasn't done that, and he didn't do that last season. And he needs games, either with us or somewhere else."

"But that's a matter for Jack, his agent and the club to discuss. If he stays, that's great and he'll continue to contribute as he has from day one."

When pressed by Sky Sports reporter Gary Cotterill if he was unhappy with Grealish, Guardiola responded bluntly: "Who said I was unhappy with him? Did I say I was unhappy?"

"He didn't play in the last few games and was on the bench. And someone like Rico Lewis, one of my favorite players, was not included in the squad."

"(James) McCarty played really well against Villa and Wolves but he wasn't in the squad today. Why didn't you ask me about McCarty? It's nothing personal.

"I have 24 players and every game I have to exclude five or six. This time it was five because (Mateo) Kovacic was sent off in the last game, otherwise it would have been six.

"This has nothing to do with Jack. I was the one who pushed for him and the one who insisted he stay on the team."