Manchester City shockingly exited the FIFA Club World Cup on 1st July 2025 after they faced defeat to the Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal. Manchester City were hoping for a better showing in this tournament as it provided the first opportunity to set the tone for the coming 2025/26 season.
The new season is nearly upon us, and the team could also see changes to their personnel with the Director of Football, Hugo Viana and manager Pep Guardiola looking to revamp the team. With the exit of club legend, Kevin De Bruyne, to Italian side Napoli, accompanied by the acquisitions of younger players in Rayan Ait-Nouri, Rayan Cherki, and Tijjani Reijnders, the football club are definitely positioning themselves for a new dawn.
First team players Jack Grealish and James McAtee did not feature in the squad for the Club World Cup, with the former seemingly falling out of favour with the manager, and the latter choosing to feature in the U21 UEFA European championships, which could indicate a potential end to their time at the club.
After their exit from the Club World Cup, Manchester City will be focused on building themselves up for the start of the next season, where they'll be aiming to claim success.
What Pep Guardiola had to say about Hugo Vianna
“It’ll be so easy to communicate together and work together, so easy.”
“In those terms, it’s a perfect replacement. The way we talk, the composure, it’s quite Txiki, it’s not stress like me, for example.”
“So the balance, it’s more calm and hopefully he can express himself."
“I said forget what we’ve done, we need your vision. You don’t come to follow what we’ve done in the past."
“Let us talk, what do you see about the team, what do you think, what can we do better, what is your feeling?"
“Back and forth opinions, when they come up, they’re the best opinions. I don’t want to be at a club where it’s just the manager all the time, no, it’s not about that."
“I rely a lot on my Sporting Directors and they give me the teams or the players they believe are the best for the team.”
With the transfer window now open, former captain Kyle Walker has left the club on a permanent move to Burnley FC, as well as Divine Mubama who is set to go on loan to Stoke City FC and there could still be more player exits and player signings to come as Viana and Pep rebuild the team.