Mendy reveals Guardiola told him to limit antics on social media going forward

Benjamin Mendy has revealed Pep Guardiola told him to limit his antics on social media going forward.

The Manchester City left-back is known for being prolific on Twitter and Instagram and there have been a number of issues caused by his posts on various social media accounts.

Last season he was out in Barcelona for recovery but uploaded a story to his Instagram account that implied he was in Hong Kong.

When Guardiola was asked about Mendy being there in a press conference, the manager said: 'F***, is he?'

And Mendy has now revealed Guardiola has told him to 'calm down' on his profiles.

Mendy told FourFourTwo: 'He told me to calm down. He said it's normal to have a life on social media, but not too much. Some people are always waiting for you to make a mistake – and even if it's not that bad, it can become a really big thing.

'There was a tweet where I wrote I was in Hong Kong, and then I got a call from the club asking, 'Where are you?!' I was in Barcelona recovering! It was a joke but people went crazy. Sometimes I didn't think when I was tweeting, but then it goes deeper. Now I think a bit more.

'Honestly, though, Pep is just unbelievable. Tactically he's amazing, but it's also the way he makes you feel.

'He's the manager but he can be your friend, too. Not a friend like you would go out with all the time, obviously, but you can talk openly and he'll make you feel good. You aren't scared to approach him like some managers – he makes you so relaxed.

'That's good for a player. The way he speaks about football, you feel it; you can see how much he loves it and you want to fight for him. After he's done, you're ready.

'What you do well he isn't going to tell you necessarily, but the small things you aren't doing well? He'll definitely let you know – 'you are going to train, train, train'.

'And not just 11 players: everyone in the squad knows what they need to do, including the young guys – it's one identity. Keep the ball, a lot of passes, but everything with intensity.

'And that's so important: if you do everything with intensity, you're going to get good results.'

City will take on Real Madrid in the Champions League later this month and Mendy believes they can make an impact on the competition.

He continued: 'We play in the Champions League to face sides like Real – the kings of this competition with the most trophies. We are confident.

'We knew before the draw that we would play against a big team, but we're not thinking, 'How are we going to beat these?'

'We're going to go there trusting the manager and playing our football – players love these games. We just want to show our best to go to the next round.

'Some people say, 'Manchester City need to win the Champions League – if they don't, it's over and they're terrible' but football isn't like that. Look at last year: if you win against Spurs, everything is different.

'You're one inch away from winning or going out – Raheem Sterling scores but the goal is ruled out and we're s**t.

'For me, we go there with no extra pressure – people can say what they want.'

Mendy has also revealed how he went about recovering from his second serious knee injury.

'In the week I was having injections, they were taking out blood and it hurt sometimes,' he added. 'Some days I was fine, and others my knee would be too painful – it was ice, ice, ice all the time. I just didn't understand it: I was eating good, sleeping good and doing everything right.

'So in April, I told the coaches that I was going to end my season, go to Barcelona and not take a holiday – to work, work, work and be ready for this season. I was there for three months.

'With a knee injury, your weight is always important. I was about 84kg, but you need to be 82kg. That's hard when you're injured because you can't run, so you've got to be really careful: only water, no juice, definitely no chocolate.

'It's tough to keep doing that every day, but you have to. I brought a chef and personal trainer from America with me, and everything was perfect. I lost about four per cent of my body fat – I weigh 82kg now and feel so good.'

To read the full interview with Benjamin Mendy, buy the new issue of FourFourTwo magazine which in the shops from Friday, February 7.

Also in this month’s issue, can Jose Mourinho rediscover his magic at Spurs and win his third Champions League? Chelsea’s Mateo Kovacic talks Zidane, Lampard and Bayern Munich and Andres Iniesta answers readers questions. To subscribe, go to: https://www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk/mailonline/