Last season was nothing short of a disaster for Man City.
Around October time, the club completely went off the rails. A 1-2 loss to Spurs in the League Cup triggered the bizarre run of form that followed, with City going on a thirteen-game winless streak in the run up to the New Year. Pep spent most of this period with his head in his hands on the touchline, and there was even that incredible post-match interview where the Spaniard’s face was visibly cut from his frustrations.
To Pep’s credit, he did (sort of) turn the ship around in the latter half of the season. Results stabilized, Haaland picked up a bit of form, and City managed to squeeze their way back into the Champions League spots, finishing 3rd place on 71 points. It was far from pretty, though, and City fans also had to deal with the heartbreak of saying good-bye to club legend Kevin De Bruyne. All in all, it was a rough season, with City still yet to get cleared of the 115 FFP charges looming over them.
The upcoming season will at least serve a blank slate for Pep’s men. The former Barcelona manager will be eager for a swift turnaround, too, but the club’s struggles last season have left many wondering if the days where City conquered all are finally over. We’ve never really seen Pep with his back against the wall like this before — and there’s no guarantee that the new era for City will be anything like the one before.
The “New Look” Manchester City
If Pep learnt anything from last season, it was his City squad desperately needed a revamp. In the previous summer, the Spanish manager opted not to significantly strengthen his squad, signing only Savinho and former City player Ilkay Gündoğan on a free transfer. After winning four league titles on the bounce, Pep’s state of mind was that City didn’t need to make any major signings, but it ultimately came back to bite him when that disastrous run of form started in October. This is something that City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak now reflects on as a huge mistake, stating that it “ended up costing us this year.”
So, ahead of the new season, Pep has wasted no time bring in new talent to mark the start of a new look Manchester City side:
✅ Tijjani Reijnders (£46.3m)
✅ Rayan Cherki (£34m)
✅ Rayan Aït-Nouri (£31.8m)
✅ Marcus Bettinelli (free transfer)
Let’s not forget that City splashed close to £200m on four new signings last January as well — Abdukodir Khusanov, Omar Marmoush, Vitor Reis and Nico Gonzalez — meaning City have now brought in close to an entire squad’s worth of new players. And with the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Kyle Walker heading out the exit door, it really does mark the end of an era for the City of old, even though a handful of the other old guard players are sticking around for another season.
Another signing for Man City! ✍️
Tijjani Reijnders has completed his move from AC Milan 🤝#BBCFootball pic.twitter.com/EZ3s7gYA4C
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) June 11, 2025
26-year-old Tijjani Reijnders is the pick of the bunch for City’s new signings, coming in as a direct replacement for the departing Kevin De Bruyne and arriving at City fresh off winning Serie A’s ‘Midfielder of the Year’ award. Young players Cherki and Aït-Nouri will also be looking to make a serious impression, too, joining at a time when City are in desperate need of new creative ideas going forward. Pep has always had a good hit rate for signing new talent, so it will be interesting to see whether these signings can glue and hit the ground running, especially with Liverpool hungry for back-to-back titles and Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal potentially gearing up for yet another title challenge.
City 9/4 to Win the 2025-26 Premier League
When it comes to which team will win the upcoming Premier League season, the experts from BettingTools report that City are currently 9/4 with most bookies, sitting just behind Liverpool (2/1) and Arsenal (5/2).
These odds come following Liverpool’s dominance last season — the Red’s have also made some excellent signings this summer — and skepticism surrounding whether or not City can recover from the disastrous run of form they went on before. It wasn’t just a blip for Pep Guardiola, there was a lot more to it than that, with there now being strong reason to believe that City won’t reach those heights again, despite bringing in a ton of new players.
Is Pep Finished?
The past decade has seen Pep Guardiola go on a monstrous run at Manchester City.
6 Premier League titles, 4 League Cups, 2 FA Cups, and (of course) that iconic Champions League trophy from 2023 have secured the Spanish manager’s name in City folklore forever, and it’s easy to see why some consider him the greatest Premier League manager of all time. But despite all of this, though, there’s a growing portion of football fans who believe the “Pep Era” is over, or at least in decline. And these talks have once again lit up on social media following City’s recent elimination from this summer’s Club World Cup at the hands of Al-Hilal.
In fairness to Pep, the Club World Cup isn’t taken that seriously in the grand scheme of things. However, it does once again shine a light on the fact that City’s squad has been lacking something ever since the start of last season. Not to mention, those illusive 115 FFP charges are continuing to hang over the club, with some even speculating that City have insider knowledge that they’ll eventually be found guilty.
Whatever’s going on behind the scenes, Pep at least has one shot at redeeming himself with the new season upon us. With a refreshed squad and blank canvas, you would expect City to at least be in the title race come the festive period, while also picking up a domestic trophy along the way, be it the League Cup or FA Cup. They’ll have a firesome Liverpool side to cope with along with Mikel Arteta’s Gunners, too, so getting back on track won’t be quite as easy for Pep as some think. Not to mention, the new Champions League format has also thrown a spanner in the works, with Pep’s side massively struggling in the revamped European competition last season.
There’s a lot on the line here — and the fact Pep has never been in a position like this before makes predicting what will happen next incredibly difficult. For now, City fans will have to hope Pep has another masterplan up his sleeve. If not, Pep’s days in the blue side of Manchester could be numbered.