Manchester City 2025/26 season begins under heavy pressure after a disappointing campaign, with Pep Guardiola rebuilding the squad and targeting a return to trophies. Last season, we saw everything possible: Guardiola’s outbursts, poor performances in both attack and defense, squad rebuilding, and injuries to key players. City started the season fairly well, but the closer the calendar moved toward the end of the campaign, the more Guardiola shocked both fans and the media. The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach was visibly losing control and looked emotionally drained. At one point, after another missed victory in the Champions League, Pep even scratched his own forehead in frustration. Manchester City were leading Feyenoord 3–0 in the 75th minute, yet within just 18 minutes the Dutch side managed to come back and make it 3–3 against a supposedly dominant City side. From that moment on, failures followed one after another. Was this the end, and possibly Guardiola’s final season? In the 2024/2025 season, Manchester City finished third with 71 points, which was a complete failure by their standards, especially considering the 13-point gap to champions Liverpool, who won the league with 84 points. No one fully understood why City collapsed so sharply. In the Champions League, City faced Real Madrid in the round of 16 (6–3 on aggregate) and were eliminated once again, largely due to Mbappé’s hat-trick at the Bernabéu. The main reason for this downfall was the long-term injury of City’s most important player — Rodri. Guardiola’s entire football system is built around the Spanish holding midfielder. Rodri is not only a ball-winner who pushes the team forward; he is the key link in the transition from defense to attack thanks to his elite passing. Kevin De Bruyne played a similar role, but the Belgian was already finishing his cycle at the club and eventually moved to Napoli under Antonio Conte. Guardiola, meanwhile, had to turn his attention to the upcoming Club World Cup.
The Manchester City 2025/26 season will define whether Guardiola’s rebuild can return the club to dominance.
Club World Cup and summer transfers
During the summer, it was expected that one of the most important players of the Guardiola era at Manchester City would leave the club — Kevin De Bruyne. Finding a replacement became urgent, as the Club World Cup was approaching. Kevin’s departure marked the end of one era and the beginning of another. As a result, in early June City signed Tijjani Reijnders from Milan for €55 million and Rayan Cherki from Lyon for €36.5 million — a highly talented attacking midfielder whose playing style resembles Phil Foden. Rodri managed to recover in time for the Club World Cup in the United States, and City, with a refreshed squad, successfully passed the group stage, winning all three matches with a goal difference of 13–2. However, disappointment followed in the playoffs, where City lost 3–4 to Al-Hilal, a team that had just changed its head coach, conceding two goals in extra time. Despite Guardiola’s side being clearly superior in terms of statistics and chances created, poor finishing let them down. The newcomers still needed time to adapt, and such an early elimination could actually prove beneficial in preparation for the new season. As you may remember, Chelsea went on to win the Club World Cup, shocking everyone by crushing PSG 3–0 in the final.
Guardiola was left to prepare for the new season and integrate the newcomers into the squad while using their strengths. Of course, neither Cherki nor Reijnders are players of the same level as De Bruyne or David Silva, but Reijnders was one of Milan’s main hopes and had a solid previous season, scoring 10 goals and providing 4 assists — very respectable numbers for a midfielder, especially in a league where teams often prioritize defensive play and protecting results. The club’s management also decided to give Guardiola a gift: first-choice goalkeeper Ederson moved to Turkey, and in his place City signed two top-level goalkeepers — James Trafford from Burnley and Gianluigi Donnarumma, the same keeper who won everything with Paris last season.
Manchester City 2025/26 Season: Current Situation
Manchester City had a difficult start to the season, losing back-to-back matches against Tottenham and Brighton, but results soon improved. City are now stable and consistently collecting points in the league. Guardiola’s side are currently on a seven-game winning streak. A surprising 0–2 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League proved to be a turning point, after which City began dominating their opponents both in the Premier League and in Europe. At the moment, City sit second in the table with 37 points, with only Arsenal ahead on 39 after 17 matches, while Unai Emery’s Aston Villa are close behind with 36 points. If City and Arsenal maintain their current level of performance and avoid injuries to key players, the title race should go down to the final round. We are set for another exciting season, with Guardiola’s former student Mikel Arteta challenging a powerful City side. Liverpool have dropped out of the title race despite spending €500 million this summer. In the Champions League, City currently occupy fourth place with 13 points from six matches and should comfortably qualify for the round of 16. Stability has returned in the league, and Rayan Cherki has already begun to make a significant impact, registering seven goal contributions in 12 games. If Guardiola can preserve and improve what is currently working, Manchester City will be able to win trophies and compete in every competition. It will not be easy, but everyone knows that City are capable of winning and delivering results when other teams struggle. Haaland is currently at his peak: the Norwegian has recorded 23 goal contributions in 17 league matches and scored six goals in the Champions League. Thanks to a “cyborg” like Haaland, Guardiola has every chance to succeed this season. The time to act is now, because Aston Villa are not as competitive as Arsenal, and sooner or later Unai Emery’s team will drop points. Everything depends on Guardiola’s side — first or second place in England, and in the Champions League, where PSG, Arsenal, and Bayern remain favorites, City are fully capable of competing thanks to their goal-scoring machine in the form of Haaland.
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