For the first time in eight years, Man City ended their domestic campaign without a major trophy. Pep Guardiola's side were overtaken by Liverpool in the Premier League, lost to Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final and stopped at the UEFA Champions League round of 16.
The FIFA Club World Cup 2025 - a month-long tournament that has been opposed by some Man City players, is in the middle of the schedule between two stressful seasons. Rodri, the reigning Ballon d'Or winner, has hinted that many players will be on strike due to a tight schedule.
Defender Manuel Akanji recently said Man City players were "not really happy" to play in this tournament due to limited rest time.
However, with major changes in the squad, Man City is looking to write a new history, starting with the FIFA Club World Cup. They spent more than £100 million to bring in Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Cherki, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Marcus Bettinelli as the summer transfer window opened.
The Etihad team also spent more than 172 million pounds in January 2025 on Omar Marmoush, Abdukodir Khusanov, Vitor Reis and Nico Gonzalez.
With Claudio Echeverri, who arrived at Man City in January this year after a loan spell at River Plate, 9/27 Man City players to the US have been new to the team in the last 6 months.
Meanwhile, Guardiola has also made major changes to his coaching staff. Pep Lijnders, Jurgen Klopp's former Liverpool assistant, and former Man City defender Kolo Toure, join the coaching staff, replacing three departed coaches.
"This is a very serious tournament. In the summer, the whole world will watch the tournament match. With a large number of top teams in the world participating in this tournament, I can assure you that we will do our best. We will go there to win, said Guardiola.
Man City is considered a strong candidate for the championship alongside PSG and Real Madrid. The English team is in a not-so-heavy group, along with Wydad Casablanca of Morocco, Al Ain of the UAE and the Italian giants Juventus.
Haaland and his teammates are expected to create a new look in this year's tournament. Reijnders and Cherki brought much-needed vitality to the aging midfield and compensated for the departure of Kevin De Bruyne to Napoli.
The arrival of Ait-Nouri has ended a long time of Man City without a real left-back, as well as giving the team an effective attack from this area.
But most importantly, Rodri has returned from a knee cruciate ligament injury that ruined his whole season with Man City.
When the Spanish midfielder faced Arsenal at the end of September 2024, Man City were still unbeaten and top of the Premier League rankings.
His importance as an important link in Guardiola's machine was cruelly exposed in the following months.
With Rodri's return and Guardiola's squad renewed, Man City will be a team worth waiting for at this year's FIFA Club World Cup.
Man City will have their opening match against Wydad Casablanca at 23:00 on June 18.
