Revealed: How Pep Guardiola's 'running like dogs' training sessions saw Man City starlet QUIT football and attend Oxford University instead

Willhoft-King’s decision to leave football at just 19 came as a shock to those who followed his development closely. The midfielder had spent over a decade progressing through Tottenham Hotspur’s academy before joining Manchester City’s Under-21 setup in 2024, with his career path seemingly destined for first-team football. He had been coached by Premier League icon Yaya Toure, trained with Antonio Conte’s Spurs, and became part of the first-team training group at City.

But his journey never followed a smooth trajectory. A series of injuries, including a long setback shortly after arriving at the Etihad, disrupted his momentum and left him increasingly frustrated by the stop-start nature of his development. Despite earning England youth caps and working alongside some of the best players in the world, he never found the consistent rhythm needed to flourish at the highest level.

Alongside physical hurdles, the teenager struggled with lifestyle and motivation as a young player. The daily routine of training, recovery, and inactivity between sessions left him bored and unstimulated, even while living a dream many aspire to. Rather than becoming hungry to push on, Willhoft-King began to feel that professional football no longer offered the fulfilment he craved — ultimately triggering a life-changing decision.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Willhoft-King reflected on first-team sessions under Guardiola, he said: “Tottenham is a good team but Man City is another level. De Bruyne, Haaland … these are the best players in the world. But you also realise they are normal people. They have a bit of banter, they call each other out for making mistakes. And seeing Pep … he is just so, so animated. The energy he brings, the hand gestures, raising his voice. It’s actually pretty remarkable.”

However, the experience quickly became mentally challenging: “Then … I don’t want to say disillusioned but you realise … well, training with the first team became a thing that no one was really looking forward to, strangely enough. Because you would just be pressing. We would be running after the ball like dogs for half an hour, 60 minutes. It’s not a very pleasant experience, especially when you are trying to press De Bruyne or Gündogan or Foden. You can’t get near them, so the feeling of not wanting to do this overcomes being starstruck.”

Speaking about how he ultimately fell out of love with the day-to-day reality of life as a young pro, the Englishman added: “I wasn’t enjoying it. I don’t know what it was, maybe the environment. I’m bored often, as well. You’d train, you’d come home and you wouldn’t really do anything. If you contrast it to now … I’m struggling to find hours in the day.”

He also described his career outlook beyond football: “I always felt understimulated in football. Don’t get me wrong. I still loved it. But I always felt I could be doing more. I was wasting hours of the day. I needed something different and Oxford excited me; the people, too. I guess that’s the reason.

“Say I had a career in League One or the Championship … you make good money. But how much would I enjoy it? In my head I wasn’t sure. Also, best-case scenario – you’ll play for 10, 15 years and after that, what? I thought going to university would provide a platform for me to do something at least for longer than the next 10 to 15 years. So, it’s a bit of a long-term thing, as well.”

Willhoft-King had been regarded as a standout prospect from a young age. Tottenham scouted him from grassroots football, where he shared the pitch with future Arsenal talents Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri. His technical ability, intelligence and composure in midfield made him one of the most highly regarded players in his age group.

Despite that status, he frequently questioned whether football alone would satisfy his ambition. With a family upbringing rooted in education, including a father who worked in academia, he always felt the pull of a more intellectually demanding future. Balancing A-levels with academy football, he excelled academically and achieved three A* grades.

When Manchester City offered him a contract in 2024, he accepted to avoid a lifelong “what if?”, but injuries and squad depth limited his opportunities. After experiencing elite performance environments at Spurs and City, he recognised that football’s intensity did not align with his personal goals or happiness. That prompted him to pivot — successfully — toward a different path.

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