Somewhere over Vienna, Man City’s squad decided they fancied Ibiza. Spirits were high. The party in Istanbul hadn’t really ended; players still in full flow rather than bleary eyed when clambering on the club’s private jet.
Officially the bash at a JW Marriott overlooking the Marmara Sea finished at around 9am the morning after the night before but Pep Guardiola’s stars tagged another 48 hours on top.
En route home, with the Champions League trophy strapped to a seat, a couple of the more senior players wondered if City wouldn’t mind loaning them the Etihad Boeing 787 for a bit. Nothing major, just hopping over to the Balearics with a massive club crest on the side of an aircraft.
Predictably, that request was politely rejected. Instead they improvised, quickly organising another plane while landing back in Man. Players had under an hour to nip back to their apartments before meeting at the private terminal. Fun was had by all.
That is all gone now. Guardiola was categoric about it as City begin their defence against Red Star Belgrade in a group they ought to control. Forget about the Treble and in the grand scheme of European football, them winning last year’s crown barely means anything.
Man City are insistent they can dominate Europe after winning the Champions League
City chiefs – including owner Sheikh Mansour (C) and Khaldoon Al-Mubarak (second right) – held talks about they can replicate their treble success on the continent
The crunch meeting came just days after City players made an impromptu trip to Ibiza
‘For us to win it was incredible for the club,’ Guardiola said. ‘But in perspective, how many teams have won the Champions League once? A lot (10). We did nothing special. If I wanted just the memories I wouldn’t be here, I’d be at home or on a beach.’
That was the crux of talks in Abu Dhabi a few days after the Ibiza trip and a sodden victory parade. All the big hitters attended. Guardiola, chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak, sporting director Txiki Begiristain and chief executive Ferran Soriano all sat down with Sheikh Mansour. It was made abundantly clear that the unprecedented level of domestic success can be replicated on the continent.
Arrigo Sacchi’s AC Milan of the late 1980s were mentioned. Zinedine Zidane’s Real Madrid. Dettmar Cramer’s Bayern Munich in the 1970s. Not many have defended this trophy.
It goes without saying that Guardiola’s Barcelona, winning two of them in three years, are used as a reference point too. ‘People say we won it and it’s done,’ Guardiola said. ‘It’s not done. It’s just once.’ After all, Red Star won it once, in 1990.
Pep Guardiola has warned his City stars they are at the bottom of the mountain, not the top
By finally reaching the holy grail, City were aware that some protagonists, including captain Ilkay Gundogan, would see it the perfect opportunity to wave goodbye. Al Mubarak, keenly involved in squad planning, discussed what would be required to represent a step forward in the transfer market as opposed to standing still.
They’d known for months that Jude Bellingham was heading elsewhere and invested £207million on new additions. Two of them, in Josko Gvardiol and Jeremy Doku, at the beginning of their careers – replacing 29-year-old Aymeric Laporte and Riyad Mahrez, 32. Experience left, serious promise arrived and others, like new member of the five-man leadership team Bernardo Silva, take on more responsibility.
This is a seemingly never-ending cycle of squad redevelopment, now completed in a measured fashion. City pocketed more than £160m from player sales and additional clauses this summer, sticking to internal net spend targets. Soriano has said he is ‘relaxed’ now that City have Ol’ Big Ears – which amused Guardiola when put to him yesterday – but in the boardroom, it is always about the next challenge.
The Spaniard is pushing his players to improve this season after they came from behind to beat West Ham on the weekend
And that has translated to the players. Guardiola showed his squad a picture of a mountain at the start of the season, pointing that they were now at the bottom, not the summit.
‘Our flag will always be at the top because we have won the Premier League and Champions League but to go again is what separates the good teams from the great teams,’ captain Kyle Walker said. ‘The hunger is still definitely in the changing room and the manager still wants to win more. You can see what he is like in games and training. He doesn’t settle for second.’
City have gone again and again consistently over the years but this time requires even more focus. Guardiola had to calm them down inside the dressing room at half time of Saturday’s win at West Ham United, when they went in a goal down. ‘I asked why they were angry,’ Guardiola said. ‘We were losing but performing well. We push them but it comes from them.
‘We have an incredible mentality in the players. Managers can make beautiful speeches that go on TikTok but it doesn’t work (like that). Everyone has to find himself to become better. I’m a little bit surprised that after all the years, the Treble… this shows the team is really good.’
