VERY few people provision for the end of an era, but Pep Guardiola called time on one of the most trophy-laden periods in football history at the end of 2025-26. Manchester City won 15 major trophies under Guardiola’s management, including six Premier League titles and the Champions League. City also became part of an elite band of clubs that have lifted the domestic double and the Champions League in the same season.
In 2025-26, City finished runners-up to Arsenal in the Premier but won the FA Cup and EFL Cup, beating Chelsea and Arsenal respectively. It was a strange year for the club as they never looked as though they would win the Premier and they endured some indifferent results, including four defeats in their first 12 games. They performed better in the second half of the season and lost once in their last 16, a 2-1 home defeat at the hands of Aston Villa in Guardiola’s last game. Erling Haaland, with 27 goals, ended as top scorer in the Premier and in total netted 38 in all competitions.
Although City reinforced their squad in the summer of 2025, acquiring Gianluigi Donnarumma from PSG, AC Milan’s Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Cherki from Lyon and Rayan Aït-Nouri from Wolves, they also added some sought-after players in mid-season in the form of Antoine Semenyo of Bournemouth and Marc Guéhi of Crystal Palace. Semenyo made an immediate impact, adding 11 goals in 27 games. At the end of the season, City also said farewell to Bernardo Silva and John Stones, with Silva eventually joining Real Madrid.
City benefitted from the emergence of home-grown talent like the versatile Nico O’Reilly, who was capped by England and became a matchwinner in the EFL Cup final with the two goals that beat Arsenal at Wembley. The club’s under-18s won the FA Youth Cup, beating neighbours Manchester United in the final and members of that side were introduced to the first team.
City’s Champions League journey was a little disappointing and ended in the round of 16 when Real Madrid beat them home and away. They finished eighth in the league phase but suffered surprising defeats at home to Bayer Leverkusen and away at Bodø/Glimt.
Soon after Guardiola departed, City announced that former Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca had been appointed as his successor. The 2026-27 season will seem strange for the club and its fans, for they have just witnessed the end of an unprecedented decade of huge success. Maresca has a hard job ahead of him.
Photo: Johnny Gios via Unsplash
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