London, Manchester, Liverpool (25/5 – 54)
Pep Guardiola’s declaration that he will not leave Manchester City this summer is bad news for other clubs in the English Premier League. On 20 May, Manchester City secured their fifth Premier League title under Pep Guardiola.
With the commanding Spaniard managing the team for seven seasons straight, since 2016, Manchester City only failed to become the champion on two occasions: 2016-2017 and 2019-2020. During those seven seasons in the Premier League, The Citizens collected an impressive 624 points from a possible maximum of 798.
There seem to be no more challenges for Guardiola in English football. He already collected every piece of domestic silverware that could have been won by Manchester City: Premier League, the FA Cup, EFL Cup, and the FA Community Shield.
The only thing that is missing is the Champions League trophy. And Guardiola is one step away from getting that. His Manchester City will play in the 2022-2023 Champions League final against Inter Milan of Italy on 10 June.
There is a rumor that Guardiola might leave Etihad Stadium if he wins the Champions League this season. In recent interviews, however, Guardiola insists that he will not be tempted to walk away from Manchester City. He would like to stay, even if they “land the Treble”, aka win the Premier League, the FA Cup, and the Champions League in a single season.
“I would like to continue here next season independent of the results,” he said as quoted by the Daily Mail. “I would like it, but I don’t know what I am going to feel, winning or losing, the two chances we have ahead of us. My feeling is that I have a contract, and when I sign, I want to respect the club.”
The former manager of Barcelona and Bayern Munich is under contract with Manchester City until 30 June 2025. If he does stay until his contract expires, it’s probably safe to assume that Manchester City will continue to dominate the Premier League for the next two years. In the hands of Guardiola, Manchester City are almost invincible.
Guardiola has built a Manchester City team so strong that many of their rivals now see second place as the best they can hope for. Manchester City have a squad that is so rich in talent, their way of play is stunning, and they have incredible consistency. Backed by a seemingly no-limit budget, Guardiola always gets his man to make Manchester City better.
After the exploits of Ilkay Gundogan, Bernardo Silva, Ederson, Kyle Walker, Rodri, and Erling Haaland, anyone who is recruited by Guardiola in the summer definitely has a chance to become the next star of Manchester City and the Premier League. The story of Manchester City’s success in the 2022-2023 season reveals how good they are in wrapping up the Premier League title.
For most of the season, Arsenal stayed at the top of the table: Arsenal led for 93 percent of the season, a new top-flight record for the longest amount of time a team has been on top and did not win the title. However, in the end they found they could not overcome Manchester City’s endurance.
Now an exciting new season of the Premier League awaits. Chelsea will have a new manager as Mauricio Pochettino is close to signing. Liverpool will probably perform better than they did in 2022-2023, with Juergen Klopp learning the hard way: from his mistakes. Manchester United will perhaps steady their ship in Erik ten Hag’s second season. A new powerhouse in the form of Newcastle United is also emerging.
But the question remains: who can really compete with Pep Guardiola and his Manchester City?