Manchester City: Pep Guardiola bans players from using the internet at club's training base

Certain areas of the City Football Academy are now free from 3G signal and have been disconnected from the in-house Wi-Fi system under Guardiola’s instructions

Pep Guardiola is renowned for his attention to detail (Getty)

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has blocked players from using the internet at the club’s training base, according to Pablo Zabaleta.

Certain areas of the City Football Academy are now free from 3G signal and have been disconnected from the in-house Wi-Fi system under Guardiola’s instructions.

In a bid to foster greater team spirit and unity, the Catalan has moved to make it harder for players to be distracted by their phones or other mobile devices.

“He forces us to have breakfast and lunch together at the club. The internet is cut off, we are held incommunicado. We don’t even use 3G,” the full-back told Argentina’s TyC Sports.

Guardiola’s impressive start to life in England has been credited to his attention to detail and Zabaleta’s revelation certainly gives an insight into the methodology behind the Spaniard’s work.

The 45-year-old has previously banned junk food and warned overweight players in pre-season that they would be exiled from the first-team until they got themselves back into shape.

Despite the severity of some of Guardiola’s tactics, Zabaleta has praised his manager who has helped guide City to the top of the Premier League.

The Argentine said: "You always want and you dream to be trained by the best coaches, and today I have the opportunity to work with one of the best.

"You learn a lot, especially the way how you should live. Beyond the knowledge of his ideas, you see the passion with which he lives for football."