Jose Mourinho was right – Pep Guardiola has started having a wretched campaign at Manchester City
Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City have endured a wretched season with the latest blow for the fallen champions seeing the Spaniard agree with his bitter rival Jose Mourinho
Pep Guardiola has had a wretched campaign at Manchester City
Pep Guardiola has had a wretched campaign at Manchester City
Pep Guardiola reckons securing a return to the Champions League next season will be one of his most impressive milestones as Manchester City boss.
Guardiola has endured a miserable campaign after seeing a host of leading stars struck down with injuries. These include Ballon d’Orr winner Rodri, Kevin De Bruyne, John Stones and now Erling Haaland.
To make matters worse, Guardiola has had to contend with the backdrop of his club’s on-going battle with the Premier League over allegations of breaking spending rules.
And due to the problems he has faced this time round, Guardiola believes qualifying for club football’s biggest competition again would be extra satisfying.
The former Barcelona manager claims people have been proved wrong for taking for granted the fact City will qualify for the Champions League every season.
Pep Guardiola and former rival Jose Mourinho
Pep Guardiola and former rival Jose Mourinho
His rival Jose Mourinho claimed finishing second in the Premier League to City in 2018, when he was Manchester United boss, was one of his greatest managerial achievements due to his rivals’ greater spending power.
And Guardiola is convinced a top four finish this season would represent a significant achievements. The Spaniard, whose side host Leicester City on Wednesday night, said: “Getting to the Champions League next season will be an incredible success.
“Just for the fact of being there, for the problems that we’ve had. I understand when Jose said this quote. For the club, for next season, we want to play in the Champions League.
“I said this before, a thousand million times, that people take for granted that City are going to be in the Champions League every season.
“I know how difficult it is. Otherwise, all the important teams would be in the Champions League every season. But it didn’t happen like that.
“We’re the only one in the last, I don’t know how many years, who have been there. This kind of thing I give a lot of importance to, because it’s the consistency I’ve always been looking for as a manager.”
City are fifth in the table and locked in a desperate battle with numerous sides around them for one of the coveted Champions League spots. And Guardiola knows being without some influential players for so long has been a huge challenge to overcome.
He said: “It wasn’t possible to do it in the Premier League this season, and this is the worst Champions League campaign we’ve done since I’ve been here.
“But look at the FA Cup – seven semi-finals in a row. The people say ‘Yeah, but you play teams in the Championship and in League One’.
“Maybe we won’t win the FA Cup, but we’ve been there. In the Premier League, we’ve not been there, in the Champions League, we’ve not been there.
“You can’t compete in all of the competitions when you don’t have the players. And this season it happened. We had to play a lot without them.
“We have nine games, nine finals, and we’re going to try next season to be in the Champions League.”
Jose Mourinho Was Right – Pep Guardiola’s Wretched Campaign at Manchester City Has Begun
When Jose Mourinho once cautioned about the cyclical nature of football dominance and the eventual fall that awaits even the greatest managers, few took it as a prediction aimed directly at Pep Guardiola. Fast forward to the 2024/25 season, and Mourinho’s words appear increasingly prophetic. Guardiola, long hailed as the tactical genius who turned Manchester City into an unstoppable domestic force, is now enduring what many are calling his most challenging campaign yet.
Manchester City’s current season has been a far cry from the precision and control that have defined the Guardiola era. Defensive instability, injuries to key players, and a clear drop in intensity have left the reigning champions looking a shadow of their former selves. With unexpected losses to mid-table teams and a growing inconsistency in both attack and defense, City are struggling to maintain their place in the title race.
Guardiola has often been lauded for his ability to reinvent his teams, but this season has shown signs of fatigue — not just in his players, but perhaps in the system itself. His high-possession, high-pressing philosophy, which has suffocated opponents for years, is starting to look predictable. Opposing managers have started to find ways around his tactics, and the City squad — many of whom have been with him for multiple title runs — seem mentally and physically drained.
Mourinho, known for his psychological edge and deep understanding of football’s ebbs and flows, has long suggested that Guardiola’s methods have a shelf life. The former Chelsea, Real Madrid, and Manchester United boss once remarked, “Pep builds teams that burn bright — but they burn out.” That critique is now resurfacing as pundits draw parallels between Guardiola’s final seasons at Barcelona and Bayern Munich, where similar patterns of decline emerged.
Adding to the turmoil is Guardiola’s visible frustration on the sidelines. His body language has grown more animated and impatient, and his post-match interviews increasingly defensive. While he signed a contract extension until 2027, there’s growing speculation that he may consider stepping away earlier if things don’t turn around.
City’s usually dominant midfield has looked disjointed, and the goals have dried up for Erling Haaland at key moments. While new signings have come in with promise, they have yet to gel fully with Guardiola’s intricate system. Meanwhile, clubs like Arsenal and Liverpool have capitalized on City’s drop-off, surging ahead in the standings and threatening to break the Etihad stronghold on English football.
In truth, even the best managers hit turbulent spells. But this feels different. This feels like the beginning of an inevitable end. Mourinho, often dismissed as a provocateur, may have simply understood what others refused to see: that even Pep, for all his brilliance, is not immune to decline.
Whether Guardiola can pull City out of this slump remains to be seen. But for now, it’s clear — the cracks are showing, and Mourinho’s warning is no longer just a soundbite. It’s reality.
Source
Leave a Reply