Manchester City could end the 2024-25 season with their lowest total points tally in their last nine campaigns. While they reached the FA Cup final against Crystal Palace, The Citizens were eliminated early in both the Champions League and Carabao Cup.
Out front, Guardiola's side endured a disastrous run of 13 games in all competitions, winning 1, drawing 3 and losing 9. That was a big decline for a club that had won the Premier League 6 in the previous 7 seasons. Therefore, the new sporting director Hugo Viana will have to closely monitor Man City's reconstruction process.
In some ways, Man City's reconstruction has begun, with the club spending nearly 250 million Euros to buy a series of young players, including Vitor Reis, Abdukodir Khusanov and Juma Bah. These are all contracts with a long-term vision for the Etihad Stadium team.
The biggest unknown at the moment - 115 allegations (in fact 130 allegations) made by the Premier League - could make all plans meaningless if Man City are left out of the Premier League or are heavily punished ( worst case scenario). Until a final verdict is announced, the penalties remain in place at the Etihad.
There will also be questions related to coach Pep Guardiola. His contract will expire at the end of the 2024-2025 season and Guardiola decided to extend it for another 2 seasons in November 2024.
Given everything Guardiola has done at the Etihad, a bitter farewell is unacceptable. However, it was still a big surprise when Guardiola chose to stay despite the feeling that The Citizens were about to enter a downturn. Does Guardiola want to be a part of the rebuilding process or wants to immediately get Man City back to the top?
There is another factor, and it is related to ownership. This summer will mark 17 years since Abu Dhabi took over Man City, and they have pumped hundreds of millions of pounds into the club both directly and indirectly.
After nearly two decades, mainly marked by success on the pitch, is Abu Dhabi interested in continuing to support this project? Will Man City's project achieve its goals? Are they willing to continue or find another investor?
In fact, it seems that Man City is pursuing a more sustainable development model, thereby attracting potential investors. The proof is their transfer strategy in January this year and how they have become more determined in extracting income from the days at the Etihad.
If Guardiola commits to staying for another two years, it is because he wants to return to the winning path immediately. In the end, after many spending sparing seasons, they have the opportunity to shop big this summer within the framework of financial regulations.
Man City could spend up to €150 million this summer, especially as they will also receive a large sum of money from the FIFA Club World Cup in the US.
