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Pep Guardiola to sell eight Man City heroes as two signings identified in transfer reboot
Real Madrid made Pep Guardiola's stars resemble yesterday's men and the demolition job was brutal proof that the Spaniard needs to accelerate the breaking-up of a once great team
Pep Guardiola will have flown back to Manchester with his mind on the future as well as the present, following his side's mauling in Madrid.
Because events in the Bernabeu, where Manchester City were humbled and humiliated, left Guardiola in no doubt that he is now presiding over a team containing heroes of the past.
Being outclassed by Real Madrid is nothing strange to most sides. But City are not supposed to be like most other teams. It's the one which won the Champions League en-route to the Treble in 2023, and has claimed the last four Premier League titles.
Yet Real made Guardiola's stars resemble yesterday's men - and the demolition job was brutal proof that the Spaniard needs to accelerate the breaking-up of a once great team.
Kylian Mbappe held aloft three fingers after completing his hat-trick in the 3-1 win, as Real stuck two up to the team that chose to mock them over Rodri winning the Ballon d'Or ahead of Vinicius Junior.
And this is what City have now become. A bit of a laughing stock. Figures of fun in football. Guardiola's current dynasty is now done. Their rise to the top gained them few friends, so no-one will be wanting to pick them up again following such a rapid fall from grace.
So it will be left to Guardiola and the billions belonging to Abu Dhabi owner Sheik Mansour, to rebuild a team currently losing as many games as it is winning in all competitions.
When the summer arrives, City will have 10 players aged 30 or over, while Jack Grealish will hit this number in September. And most of these have not matured into current golden oldies.
When it comes to the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, John Stones, Mateo Kovacic, Ilkay Gundogan and Ederson, the prime of their careers has been and gone.
All of these are are expected to leave along with Grealish, who has delivered little return on the British record £100m City spent on signing him. While Kyle Walker has gone to AC Milan on-loan, and won't be coming back.
Between now and the end of the season, Guardiola must wrestle with the dilemma of having to usher in a new era, while making sure City are back at Europe's top table come August. Finishing in the top five is likely to be enough to secure them a Champions League place, but this is far from a foregone conclusion.
There is also the spectre of a points deduction hanging over them, should City be found guilty of breaking Premier League spending rules. A verdict is expected before the end of March. But the reboot has already started - and will not stop.
Guardiola will give more game time to January arrivals Nico Gonzalez, Abdukodir Khusanov, Omar Marmoush and Vitor Reis, three of which started in the Spanish capital.
A £12m deal has been struck with Lens for centre back Juma Bah, and River Plate attacking midfielder Claudio Echeverri is expected to arrive in Manchester this week. While Guardiola has also targeted Germany and Bayer Leverkusen star Florian Wirtz, along with Juventus full back Andrea Cambiaso.
There is a changing of the guard, and when asked about it, Guardiola admitted as such. He said: "We have been a great team, but this year for many reasons we are not. Decisions have to be made at a team level.
"We have started to do it. Things are not eternal, there are players who have an age."
Daily Star Sunday
Real Madrid made Pep Guardiola's stars resemble yesterday's men and the demolition job was brutal proof that the Spaniard needs to accelerate the breaking-up of a once great team
Pep Guardiola will have flown back to Manchester with his mind on the future as well as the present, following his side's mauling in Madrid.
Because events in the Bernabeu, where Manchester City were humbled and humiliated, left Guardiola in no doubt that he is now presiding over a team containing heroes of the past.
Being outclassed by Real Madrid is nothing strange to most sides. But City are not supposed to be like most other teams. It's the one which won the Champions League en-route to the Treble in 2023, and has claimed the last four Premier League titles.
Yet Real made Guardiola's stars resemble yesterday's men - and the demolition job was brutal proof that the Spaniard needs to accelerate the breaking-up of a once great team.
Kylian Mbappe held aloft three fingers after completing his hat-trick in the 3-1 win, as Real stuck two up to the team that chose to mock them over Rodri winning the Ballon d'Or ahead of Vinicius Junior.
And this is what City have now become. A bit of a laughing stock. Figures of fun in football. Guardiola's current dynasty is now done. Their rise to the top gained them few friends, so no-one will be wanting to pick them up again following such a rapid fall from grace.
So it will be left to Guardiola and the billions belonging to Abu Dhabi owner Sheik Mansour, to rebuild a team currently losing as many games as it is winning in all competitions.
When the summer arrives, City will have 10 players aged 30 or over, while Jack Grealish will hit this number in September. And most of these have not matured into current golden oldies.
When it comes to the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, John Stones, Mateo Kovacic, Ilkay Gundogan and Ederson, the prime of their careers has been and gone.
All of these are are expected to leave along with Grealish, who has delivered little return on the British record £100m City spent on signing him. While Kyle Walker has gone to AC Milan on-loan, and won't be coming back.
Between now and the end of the season, Guardiola must wrestle with the dilemma of having to usher in a new era, while making sure City are back at Europe's top table come August. Finishing in the top five is likely to be enough to secure them a Champions League place, but this is far from a foregone conclusion.
There is also the spectre of a points deduction hanging over them, should City be found guilty of breaking Premier League spending rules. A verdict is expected before the end of March. But the reboot has already started - and will not stop.
Guardiola will give more game time to January arrivals Nico Gonzalez, Abdukodir Khusanov, Omar Marmoush and Vitor Reis, three of which started in the Spanish capital.
A £12m deal has been struck with Lens for centre back Juma Bah, and River Plate attacking midfielder Claudio Echeverri is expected to arrive in Manchester this week. While Guardiola has also targeted Germany and Bayer Leverkusen star Florian Wirtz, along with Juventus full back Andrea Cambiaso.
There is a changing of the guard, and when asked about it, Guardiola admitted as such. He said: "We have been a great team, but this year for many reasons we are not. Decisions have to be made at a team level.
"We have started to do it. Things are not eternal, there are players who have an age."
Daily Star Sunday