Just 24 days connected from their past Premier League crippled of the 2024-25 season, Manchester City volition instrumentality to competitory enactment arsenic they statesman their Club World Cup run successful the United States.
Pep Guardiola's broadside endured a miserable clip past word but president Khaldoon Al Mubarak said this tourney volition people the commencement of a caller season, alternatively than a continuation of the erstwhile one.
Though a speedy turnaround, City volition beryllium pleased to leap backmost connected to the relentless footballing treadmill with the accidental of defending the planetary crown they won 2 years agone successful Saudi Arabia.
Guardiola said: "The World Cup is an unthinkable accidental to recognize we travel present each together, to amusement who we are successful the champion way, playing the athletics we love.
"Supporters of some sides sharing antithetic continents and places - this is what we should beryllium each astir the world. Hopefully this World Cup tin assistance radical recognize that."
The tourney has since been expanded to 32 teams, with Fifa president Gianni Infantino declaring a "new era" for shot - and the precise aforesaid tin beryllium said astir this City side.
With superior contention for places now, however volition Guardiola's men enactment up this play and whose spot is successful danger?
City person acceptable their stall retired by spending much than £100m to bolster their squad for the tourney and volition beryllium dense favourites against Moroccan champions Wydad AC successful Philadelphia.
Guardiola's broadside fell beneath their precocious standards past term, failing to triumph a large trophy for the archetypal clip successful 8 years aft finishing 3rd successful the league, being knocked retired aboriginal successful the Champions League and beaten successful the FA Cup last by Crystal Palace.
The Spaniard fto spell of nine fable Kevin de Bruyne and has freshened up his midfield with the signings of £43m box-to-box Dutchman Tijjani Reijnders from AC Milan and Lyon's French maverick Rayan Cherki for £30.45m.
Ballon d'Or victor Rodri and Oscar Bobb are present backmost and disposable - aft missing astir of past play with wounded - portion £31m signing from Wolves, Rayan Ait-Nouri, volition let City to run with a specializer left-back for the archetypal clip since the departure of Benjamin Mendy.
"I'm truly blessed that we were capable to bring successful specified prime reinforcements," said Brazil winger Savinho. "They're grooming truly good and integrating into a radical that is truly settled truthful that is bully to see.
"I'm looking guardant to getting connected to the transportation with them."
With Nico Gonzalez, Omar Marmoush, Vitor Reis and Abdukodir Khusanov joining for £200m successful January and 2024 acquisition from River Plate, Claudio Echeverri, besides present astatine the club, Guardiola has a multitude of options with a full of 9 arrivals since January.
It shows Man City mean superior concern but does permission plentifulness of questions astir the squad - with Guardiola claiming he needed a smaller one.
Khusanov, Savinho, James McAtee, Echeverri, Rico Lewis and Jack Grealish each missed retired connected matchday squads towards the extremity of past play and, with 34 players listed successful their first-team squad, departures are inevitable.
City's 27-man Club World Cup squad does not see Kyle Walker, Kalvin Phillips and Grealish, with each 3 acceptable for the exit - if deals tin beryllium agreed.
But, with Guardiola adamant helium did not "want to person 24, 25, 26 players erstwhile everyone is fit" successful his squad, determination stay immoderate large decisions to beryllium made.
One subordinate who confirmed helium volition enactment is midfielder Bernardo Silva, who has been appointed captain.
Silva, who enters the last twelvemonth of his contract, said: "I person had options successful the past and this twelvemonth - similar past twelvemonth - my enactment is to enactment astatine Man City."
Pick your Man City starting XI from the squad listed below.
Guardiola has reshaped his backroom unit too, with coaches Juanma Lillo and Inigo Dominguez departing.
During their grooming sessions astatine Lynn University successful Florida, City were looking crisp - crisply passing balls astir successful triangles and drilling first-time finishes into the mini nets.
New adjunct manager Pep Lijnders was laying down the instrumentality arsenic helium led training, screaming for "movement", "quality" and "speed" successful their play.
The experienced Dutchman has been brought successful to enactment alongside Guardiola aft a palmy play arsenic adjunct to Jurgen Klopp astatine Liverpool, wherever helium helped the Reds triumph the Premier League and Champions League.
"We had a speech with Jurgen but not astir Pep," said Guardiola. "It was a agelong conversation. I suggested I was reasoning astir Pep and helium gave maine his precocious opinion.
"I asked support from Jurgen of course, I didn't privation to interfere. I asked if it would beryllium a occupation and helium said 'absolutely not'. After 1 oregon 2 days we decided yes."
Former defender, and City younker squad coach, Kolo Toure has besides been drafted successful to assistance retired during the tourney and was assisting during the warm-up, arsenic good arsenic laying retired bibs and balls.
Last play was derailed by a fig of injuries to cardinal players, the biggest being a superior genu wounded suffered by midfielder Rodri aboriginal successful the campaign.
But helium returned to afloat grooming astatine the backmost extremity of past word and played the past six minutes successful the last location crippled against Bournemouth.
"When you spot Rodri, helium won the Ballon d'Or here," said Frenchman Cherki. "It's wide that with Manchester City, it's imaginable and I americium present for this."
The 28-year-old's power connected the squad cannot beryllium understated, the glue that holds the full task together, and they volition surely beryllium strengthened by his instrumentality to the archetypal team.
It remains to beryllium seen whether the caller boys volition beryllium thrown successful consecutive away, but the large names similar Erling Haaland, Ruben Dias and Silva are each progressive and City's almighty squad makes them 1 of the favourites to assistance the trophy.
Their placing successful Group G whitethorn good find however acold they spell successful this tournament, and is apt to travel down to the 3rd crippled against Juventus connected 26 June successful Orlando.
Finish 2nd and it is apt to beryllium a monumental last-16 gathering against Real Madrid successful the scorching vigor of Miami - decorativeness top, and the way opens up for a tally to the second stages successful New York.
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