Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has admitted "mistakes" were made in signing up to the failed European Super League and has promised fans to keep "pushing the envelope" to make the club the best in the world.
City were one of six Premier League clubs to sign up to a proposed breakaway league in April, alongside three Spanish clubs and three Italian.
The announcement sparked widespread protests from fans, football authorities and the British government, prompting City to pull out within 48 hours of the tournament's unveiling.
The Premier League moved to avoid any future rebel leagues forming with a raft of measures including an owners' charter which all club owners will be required to sign to avoid any future breakaway plots.
Al Mubarak conceded City's shortcomings in signing up for the Super League – Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur of England, Barcelona, Atletico and Real Madrid of Spain, and Italy's Juventus and the Milan clubs were the others – and said the club would learn from its mistakes.
“I want to start with apologising to the fans," Al Mubarak told City's website. “I owe it.
“It was a mistake. I think in hindsight, the decision should have been from the beginning: a decision not to participate in this league.
“It was very difficult. It was not an easy decision to say ‘yes, no’ and ‘we're in’ or ‘we're out.’
“I'm not going to sit here and defend the reason why we did it. What I will do is: I will own it. I took a decision ultimately on this and I take full responsibility, and it was a mistake.”
Al Mubarak said he "regretted" City's involvement and for the affect it had on City fans and called it a "big learning experience".
"It was a decision based on a view, which was a mistaken view, this will improve and strengthen our position as a club. What it missed was an important aspect which is how the fans felt about it.
"We will learn from it, I have no doubt. Our fans appreciate the heart and spirit of everything we do.
"Our fans, I hope, will understand when we make such a mistake like this our heart was in the right place. Our assessment was wrong.
"We took a decision, I took a decision on this and I take full responsibility, it was a mistake."
Man City 2020/21 season ratings
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MANCHESTER CITY 2020/21 RATINGS: Pep Guardiola 8.5 - After his worst start to a season as manager, 2020/21 ended up being one of the finest of the Catalan's trophy-laden career. Guided City on an incredible 21-win streak, retained the League Cup for a fourth-straight season and wrestled back the Premier League trophy from Liverpool. Guided City to a first Champions League final, but got his team selection against Chelsea badly wrong. -
GOALKEEPERS: Ederson 8 - As a last line of defence, few inspire as much confidence. As the first point of attack, fewer are as comfortable passing the ball as the Brazilian. -
Zack Steffen 7 - Took his chances in various cup competitions well. The American pulled off a superb save in the League Cup final to deny Giovani Lo Celso. -
DEFENDERS: Kyle Walker 8 - His power and aggression shows no signs of waning. City's right-back is still a formidable force. EPA -
Ruben Dias 9 - The Portuguese is undoubtedly the signing of the season after joining last summer from Benfica. Has brought a calm and assuredness long missing from City's backline. Named both the club's and FWA Player of the Season. Has improved John Stones as a player, too. Reuters -
John Stones 8 - The writing looked to be on the wall for Stones with Dias signing at the start of 2020/21. But the Englishman has been a colossus for City this term, so much so that Aymeric Laporte has been relegated to back-up. -
Nathan Ake 5 - The Dutchman signed for a reported £41 million from Bournemouth has failed to make an impression during his first season at the Etihad. A centre-back and left-back position was up for grabs at the start of the campaign but others have often been preferred ahead of the former Bournemouth defender. -
Aymeric Laporte 7 - The Frenchman has largely had a watching brief as Dias and Stones formed an impregnable partnership. His headed winner against Tottenham ensured City retained the League Cup for an unprecedented fourth year in a row. AFP -
Benjamin Mendy 6 - The Frenchman has fallen down the pecking order at City and looks a shadow of the rampaging full-back from a few seasons ago. -
Joao Cancelo 8 - Did not look comfortable when asked to operate at left-back in the opening game but the young Portuguese has improved immensely and is also one of City's most potent attacking weapons. Badly missed in the Champions League final. Reuters -
Eric Garcia 4 - Has found first-team opportunities hard to come by and looks on the verge of ending his three-year stay in Manchester. -
MIDFIELDERS: Ilkay Gundogan 9 - Mr Reliable became Mr Spectacular in 2020/21 with some dazzling displays, particularly at the turn of the year in the absence of Kevin de Bruyne. A haul of 12 Premier League goals is impressive and a testament to Guardiola's faith in playing without a recognised No 9. -
Oleksandr Zinchenko 6 - Used sparingly by Guardiola but a tidy operator with the ball. Was outstanding against PSG in the Champions League semi-final second leg. At fault for Kai Havertz's winner in the Champions League final defeat, though. -
Rodri 9 - It's hard to believe the Spain international is still only 24. Commands the middle of the pitch like a gnarled veteran and his omission from the team in Porto against Chelsea raised eyebrows. -
Kevin De Bruyne 9 - The Belgian is quite simply the best passer with either foot in the division. Once again the creative fulcrum in City's march to a fifth Premier League title in nine years. Season ended in heartbreak when he was forced off injured in the Champions League final defeat to Chelsea. -
Bernardo Silva 7 - The Portuguese has failed to match the highs of the previous two seasons but is a workhorse who Guardiola always turns to in big games. -
Fernandinho 7 - the Brazilian picked up a record sixth League Cup winner's medal and his form in the run-in had many banking him for a starting place in the Champions League final. His introduction after an hour showed Guardila got his selection all wrong. AFP -
Riyad Mahrez 9 - If there is a player with a better first touch in the Premier League he is being well hidden. The Algerian's goals have propelled City in their quest for for three trophies, including a brace against PSG that took them to a first Champions League final. -
Phil Foden 9 - The 20-year-old has enjoyed a sensational season to the point that David Silva's departure has barely been noticed. Has a bright future ahead at the Eithad. -
FORWARDS: Raheem Sterling 6 - Has suffered a crisis of confidence, according to his manager, but has still played a huge part in City's success. Anonymous in the Champions League final and substituted midway through the second half despite City needing a goal. -
Gabriel Jesus 7 - Has suffered, for lack of a better word, from Guardiola's use of a false 9 but the Brazilian is one of City's hardest-working players. Reuters -
Sergio Aguero 6 - Injuries and recovery from Covid-19 blighted the Argentine striker's final season at City. The club's record scorer signed off a decade at the club with two Premier League goals on the final day of the season. Will be remembered as one of the league's best ever. -
Ferran Torres 7 - Has adapted well to the demands of the Premier League but looks far more comfortable in a wide position than as a false 9.
It was the only blip on a campaign manager Pep Guardiola described as "exceptional" as City reclaimed the Premier League title, won a fourth successive League Cup and reached a first Champions League final.
Al Mubarak said that commitment to making City the biggest football club on the planet was as strong today as it was in September 2008 when Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed took ownership of the club.
"We will continue to push the envelope in everything we do. We want to be the best club in the world and to do so we have to disrupt and we will disrupt," Al Mubarak said.
"In being disruptive sometimes you make mistakes. We have made mistakes in the past, we will make mistakes in the future, but we will do more right than wrong.
"We will be better, stronger and more successful. What I tell the fans on this is, to get to where we are today we have done a lot of things right and we have made a lot of mistakes. It's part of growing and improving.
"You need to have the courage to make mistakes and to own up to these mistakes to go forward.
"If you go back 12 years ago where we started, to where we are today, we couldn't have done the leaps we have made over the years without taking risks and without making mistakes, learning and coming back and constantly improving."
