Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak admitted the club “probably should have been more aggressive” on the transfer front last summer as he looked back on their 2024-25 season.
The Citizens failed to win a single trophy this season, losing the FA Cup Final to Crystal Palace in what a disappointing season for Pep Guardiola’s team.
With the club set to start a new rebuilding process during the summer transfer window, City’s chairman Khaldoon in his annual end-of-season interview, reflected City should have done more to strengthen going into the campaign.
Savinho and Ilkay Gundogan were the only major signings last summer as Julian Alvarez departed, with City subsequently spending big to bring in a number of players in January.
Khaldoon told City’s website: “I think when I look back, last summer, we probably should have been more aggressive in some of the changes we needed to do. We didn’t do that and that ended up costing us this year.”
Khaldoon Al Mubarak, Chairman of Manchester City, and Pep Guardiola, the club manager. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
He went on to say that Manchester City intend to complete all summer signings ahead of the 2025-26 season in time for the FIFA Club World Cup, where Guardiola’s side will compete in the United States between June and July before beginning their preparations for the 2025-26 campaign.
“I can tell you today, we have clearly identified who exactly are the targets, in what positions, and we have our clear number one option, our clear number two option,” he explained.
“And we’ll go about our business, and it will be very clear, very swift.
“Our objective is to try to be ready with the new squad for the Club World Cup.”
After withdrawing interest in Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz, Manchester City are stepping up their interest in Lyon’s Rayan Cherki whilst pursuing the signatures of Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White and AC Milan’s Tijjani Reijnders.
Guardiola is also understood to be eyeing a new full-back to replace Walker on the right side of his backline, with Newcastle’s Valentino Livramento and Southampton’s Rayan Ait-Nouri highly rated at the Etihad Stadium.
