Manchester City's decade-defining partnership with Pep Guardiola may have come to an end, but the club's ambitions show no sign of slowing.
As supporters prepare for life after the most successful manager in the club's history, chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak insists City remain committed to a strategy that stretches far beyond results on the pitch.
The past season offered further evidence of that vision. City's women's team secured their first Women's Super League title since 2016, the academy continued to produce first-team talent and significant investment transformed the club's training and stadium infrastructure.
Together, they form part of a long-term plan that has underpinned City's growth since Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed acquired the club in 2008.
Yet even as City celebrate new successes and prepare to honour Guardiola with a stand bearing his name at the Etihad Stadium, questions remain over the Premier League's ongoing financial charges against the club. For Al Mubarak, however, the message remains unchanged: continue investing, continue growing and let the future take care of itself.
Women's team's success
In a reversal of the men's Premier League, City's women's team pipped Arsenal to the title. It was their first title since 2016.
“Nothing, obviously, gives you momentum like winning. And winning this league this year was perfectly timed, really perfectly timed," Al Mubarak said.
"I think this is a great team – it’s a great team that faced adversity from losing the league in the way that we lost it the previous season and [to] come back strong in a way where, you know, we play a particular brand of football, attacking football, goals, exciting football, talented players, like [Bunny] Shaw and others, and a top manager. Fans are embracing this team – and then we win it with style.”
In May, City opened a new £10 million state-of-the-art facility for its women’s team at the City Football Academy, equipped with a world-class gym with specialist strength and conditioning facilities, dedicated medical, rehab and physio spaces, hydrotherapy and recovery areas.
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Manchester City have unveiled a state-of-the-art facility for the women’s team at the City Football Academy. All photos: Manchester City FC -
The new £10 million facility is one of the largest investments in a dedicated venue for women’s football -
Khaldoon Al Mubarak visits the new Manchester City women's team facility at City Football Academy in Manchester -
The dedicated facility includes the 7,000-capacity Joie Stadium -
The new facility at City Football Academy is one of the best in the women's game -
There is a dedicated section for Manchester City players and family members at the new facility -
The new facility includes world-class gym, rehab and physio spaces, hydrotherapy and recovery areas
The site includes the 7,000-capacity Joie Stadium, the first purpose-built stadium in the Women’s Super League, as well as access to over 1,000 staff across the wider club ecosystem.
"That facility, I think, sets the new standard of facilities for the women’s game. I think it’s the best in the country and it’s just a testament to our commitment to the game. And to have the team celebrate that championship sitting together watching it on TV was wonderful. And to have that spirit, to have that unity, to have that camaraderie between all of our teams in one campus – it’s what makes this club unique.”
The Pep Guardiola Stand
City are in the process of hiring a new manager after parting ways with Pep Guardiola at the end of the season.
It ended a 10-year history-defining partnership in which the Catalan guided the club to six Premier League titles - including four in a row from 2021 to 2024 - a first European Cup and many other trophies including this season's League and FA Cups.
Guardiola was given an emotional send-off at the Etihad Stadium on the final day of the season, in which it was revealed the club would rename a stand in honour of their departing manager.
As well as naming the revamped North Stand after Guardiola, a statue will also be commissioned.
Sheikh Mansour, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court, said both were a fitting tribute to a coach who had made "an indelible imprint on the DNA of the club".
The stand is one part of the new multi-element entertainment district, that also includes the new matchday fan activation space named Medlock Square, a 401-room hotel, a new club museum, retail stores, office space and a variety of restaurants and bars.
"It’s a very important investment by the club. A very important investment by His Highness Sheikh Mansour in the community here in Manchester," Al Mubarak said.
"It’s a continuous investment strategy that has never stopped. From the first day we started, 2008, to where we are today. Every year, we keep finding the right opportunities to invest in the city, to invest in this community, and to keep generating the right revenue for the growth of the [City Football] Group. This is a big investment.”
Premier League charges
Over three years have passed since the Premier League announced it was charging City for breaching a long list of rules related to alleged wrongdoing.
Most of them relate to actions taken to circumvent financial regulation, from false accounting to making payments off the books to failing to cooperate with investigators. City deny the charges.
If found guilty, City face anything from financial penalties to being stripped of titles or possibly even expulsion from the league.
Al Mubarak said: “Let me be as consistent as I’ve always been – until we have a ruling, I can’t say much. Once we have a ruling, believe me ... we’re going to have a wonderful sit down together and I’ll say everything I’ve wanted to say for the last three years.”
