Manuel Pellegrini says Manchester City will have a training camp in Melbourne when they visit in 2015

MANCHESTER City boss Manuel Pellegrini could be in for a rude shock after declaring his team won’t fly “12 hours” to Australia to just play a game.

Manchester City's Pablo Zabaleta celebrates his goal during their English Premier League soccer match against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light, Sunderland, England, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2014. (AP Photo/Scott Heppell)

MANCHESTER City boss Manuel Pellegrini could be in for a rude shock after declaring his team of superstars won’t fly “12 hours” to Australia to just play a game.

While drastically underestimating the distance his stars will have to travel to take on Real Madrid in Melbourne early next year, Pellegrini seemed happy with the prospect of a long journey Down Under.

WATCH PELLEGRINI’S RESPONSE IN THE VIDEO ABOVE

“It’s important for the club to go to Australia because we have a team also in Australia,” Pellegrini said on Saturday.

“It is a country where they like football. We are going to have our training camp, we’re not just going to fly 12 hours to play one game, we are going to stay there a lot of days.”

Manchester City confirmed for Melbourne visit

Originally published as Manuel Pellegrini says Manchester City will have a training camp in Melbourne when they visit in 2015