Man City start new era – but how might Guardiola’s side look?

Manchester City will start their Club World Cup campaign in the United States just 24 days after their final Premier League game of the 2024-2005 season.

Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak said this tournament will mark the start of a new season rather than a continuation of the previous one despite Pep Guardiola’s side’s miserable performance from the previous term.

City will be pleased to return to the relentless footballing treadmill with the chance to defend the world title they won in Saudi Arabia two years ago.

Guardiola remarked, “The World Cup is an incredible opportunity to understand that we come here all together, to show who we are in the best way, while playing the sport we love.

“We should be all over the world, supporters of both sides who share different continents and locations,” they say. Hopefully, the World Cup will clarify that.

The tournament has since been expanded to 32 teams, with Fifa president Gianni Infantino calling it a “new era” for football. The same can be said of this City side.

City will face Moroccan champions Wydad AC in Philadelphia as they prepare to prove their worth by investing more than £100m to strengthen their squad for the tournament.

After finishing third in the league, being eliminated early in the Champions League, and being defeated in the FA Cup final by Crystal Palace, Guardiola’s side failed to win a significant trophy for the first time in eight years.

With the signings of $ 43 million box-to-box Dutchman Tijjani Reijnders from AC Milan and Lyon’s French maverick Rayan Cherki for $ 30, 45 million, the Spaniard has updated his midfield since letting go of club legend Kevin de Bruyne.

After missing the majority of last season with injuries, Rodri and Oscar Bobb, who won the Ballon d’Or, are now back and available. City will also benefit from City’s £31 million signing from Wolves, Rayan Ait-Nouri, for the first time since Benjamin Mendy left.

Savinho, a Brazilian winger, expressed his delight at being given the opportunity to bring in such high-quality reinforcements. That is encouraging to see as they are integrating well and gaining a sense of community.

“I’m eager to pitch with them,” I said.

Guardiola has a number of options with nine arrivals in total since January, with the additions of Nico Gonzalez, Omar Marmoush, Vitor Reis, and Abdukodir Khusanov all for £200m in January.

Although it raises many questions about Man City’s squad, with Guardiola claiming he needed a smaller one.

At the end of last year, Khusanov, Savinho, James McAtee, Echeverri, Rico Lewis, and Jack Grealish all made the cut for matchday squads, and with 34 players listed in their first-team squad, departures are unavoidable.

Kyle Walker, Kalvin Phillips, and Grealish are not included in City’s 27-man Club World Cup squad, with all three of them likely to leave if arrangements can be reached.

There are still some important decisions to be made, though Guardiola insists that he does not “want to have 24, 25, or 26 players in his squad when everyone is fit.”

Midfielder Bernardo Silva, who has been appointed captain, is one player who has indicated he will stay.

Silva, who is entering his final year of his contract, said: “I have had options in the past, and this year, like last year, my option is to stay at Man City.

With the departures of coaches Juanma Lillo and Inigo Dominguez, Guardiola has also changed his backroom staff.

City were looking sharp as they were preparing for their first-ever mini-network drills at Lynn University in Florida, where they were passing balls around in triangles.

As he led training, new assistant coach Pep Lijnders yelled for “movement,” “quality,” and “speed” in their play. He was also laying down the law.

After serving as Jurgen Klopp’s assistant at Liverpool, where he helped the Reds win the Premier League and Champions League, Guardiola was brought in to work alongside him.

Jurgen and I spoke, but Guardiola said Pep was not the topic. It was a lengthy discussion. I suggested Pep to him, and he responded with a strong opinion.

I did not want to interfere, I asked Jurgen for permission, of course. He responded, “absolutely not,” when I asked if it would be a problem. After a day or two, we decided to say “yes.”

Kolo Toure, a former defender and City youth team coach, was also drafted to play during the tournament and distribute bibs and balls.

Major injuries to key players, including Rodri’s severe knee injury early in the campaign, were the worst kind of injuries to the team last year.

However, he made his last six minutes of play in the final home game against Bournemouth when he was back in full training at the end of last term.

When Rodri appears in this photo, Frenchman Cherki declares, “When you see him, he won the Ballon d’Or here.” It’s obvious that Manchester City can make things happen, and I’m here for it.

The 28-year-old’s influence on the team is unmistakable, the glue that keeps everything together, and his return to the first team will undoubtedly strengthen that bond.

Although it’s still unclear whether the newcomers will be hired right away, City’s strong squad, including Erling Haaland, Ruben Dias, and Silva, make them all contenders to win the trophy.

Their Group G status may influence how far they advance in this competition, which is likely to be their final game against Juventus on June 26 in Orlando.