Manchester City Begins New Season with Club World Cup Challenge

The Club World Cup represents the “beginning of the new season” and is “not the continuation of last season,” according to Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al-Mubarak.

City experienced a challenging 2024-25 campaign, failing to secure a major trophy for the first time in eight years and finishing third in the Premier League. They played their last match of the season against Fulham last Sunday, but will return to competitive action just 24 days later at the expanded 32-team FIFA tournament starting on 14 June in the United States.

“The team will take the rest they need right now, then they will start pre-season and head straight into the Club World Cup,” Khaldoon stated during an in-house club interview. “We’re excited to come in as champions. I really like the new format. This is the beginning of the new season, not the continuation of last season.”

Pep Guardiola’s squad heads to the U.S. after winning the event two years prior, where they triumphed over Fluminense in the final held in Saudi Arabia. Khaldoon mentioned that Manchester City is preparing with their “new squad” for the tournament, noting interest in AC Milan midfielder Tijjani Reijnders and Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White.

This summer will feature two transfer windows—one before the Club World Cup, from 1-10 June, allowing Manchester City and Chelsea to sign players, and then it will close for five days before reopening from 16 June to 1 September.

City players have expressed concerns about the grueling fixture schedule. Defender Manuel Akanji previously joked about possibly retiring at 30, while Ballon d’Or winner Rodri, who missed much of the season due to a serious knee injury, noted that players were close to striking. Guardiola emphasized that any changes regarding the increasing fixture demands should be initiated by the players.

In January, a meeting occurred between the players’ union Fifpro and FIFA to discuss the congested calendar, following legal complaints from the players citing “abuse of dominance.”

The revamped Club World Cup will see Manchester City compete against Moroccan side Wydad AC on 18 June (17:00 BST), Al Ain from the UAE on 23 June (02:00), and Juventus on 26 June (20:00) in the group stages. The top two teams from each of the eight groups will qualify for the knockout stages, where teams reaching the final on 13 July will play a total of seven matches. The Premier League season is set to kick off on 13 August.

Despite concerns over lack of recovery time for players, Khaldoon remains resolute about the competition’s seriousness. “This is a very, very serious competition,” he asserted. “In the summer, the whole world will be watching this. A significant number of the top teams will be competing, and I can assure you, we’re going to give it our best shot. We’re going there to win it.”

In relation to the ongoing situation regarding 115 charges of alleged financial rule breaches in the Premier League, City is still awaiting the decision from an independent commission, which was held from September to December. If found guilty, potential consequences could include points deductions or relegation. Khaldoon commented, “We still don’t have a ruling. Once there’s a ruling, I’ll be able to speak about it. Until then, we just have to be patient, and it will come. I promise you we’ll talk about it once we have the ruling.”