Pep Guardiola wants his Manchester City players to refrain from having sex after midnight, according to on-loan French midfielder Samir Nasri.
The 29-year-old said the City boss imposed the rule, even if the team did not have a game the next day, so players get “a good night’s sleep”.
Guardiola is also claimed to have said it helped Barcelona forward Lionel Messi avoid muscle injuries.
Nasri was sent on a season-long loan to Sevilla on transfer deadline day.
He told French TV programme L’Équipe du Soir that Guardiola “wants his players to be slim and fit”.
Nasri added: “He banned a lot of things in the kitchen but the biggest anecdote is that he says before a day off, those who want to have (sexual) relations it’s before midnight. And that’s with a day off the next day. It’s because he wants you to have a good night’s sleep.”
Nasri, who signed for City in 2011, added: “He said he told that to Messi, who since then does not get muscle injuries.”
The midfielder made one appearance for City this season, before he was loaned to the La Liga club
Guardiola did not allow Nasri to train with the main group during pre-season as he had returned overweight.
“Guardiola told me that I was a mess, he told me several times and even kicked me in the butt, literally,” added Nasri.