Pep Guardiola has revealed that Manchester City will need to win the UEFA Champions League title if they are to be considered one of the best teams in Europe.
Guardiola has led the Cityzens to the 2022-23 Premier League title, their third title in as many seasons and their fifth in the last six years. The club is in line to complete a continental treble as they have made it to the finals of the Champions League (vs Inter Milan) and the FA Cup (vs Manchester United).
While happy that his team successfully defended their league title, Guardiola has set his eyes on European glory as he intends to establish them as one of the “greatest teams” in Europe.
Speaking after title celebrations at the Etihad Stadium, Guardiola said:
“To be one of the greatest teams in Europe you have to win the Champions League otherwise maybe people will say it’s not complete.”
The Catalan coach also stated that failure to win a European trophy does not diminish the magnitude of the club’s achievements. He added:
“But just in case we cannot do it against Inter or next season, what we have done is extraordinary. Everybody knows it.”
Manchester City became only the fifth club (after Huddersfield Town, Arsenal, Liverpool, and Manchester United) in the history of English football to win three top-flight titles in a row. Guardiola, however, wants to make the Sky Blues the first team to win four Premier League titles back-to-back. He claimed:
“When we start next season, we are going to try to be the first team to win four Premier Leagues. We don’t need decades to think about how good it was. We have the feeling we have done something exceptional.”
He added:
“The next season all the teams will want to beat us, it’s normal. Defending our crown, mentally we have to prepare for that. That will be the challenge. We are going to play with the quality that we have – and human quality. The quality will be there.”
“Only the greatest managers of all time have done this type of thing” – Gary Neville praises Pep Guardiola following Manchester City’s title win
Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville praised Pep Guardiola’s achievements and dismissed the idea that any other manager could replicate his success at Manchester City.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Neville gave Guardiola due credit for the club’s success, saying (via Manchester Evening News):
“Honestly, this suggestion that you could give any manager these players and they could go and win three (trophies) is absolute nonsense. Only the greatest managers of all time have done this type of thing through the history of the last 100 years of English football, so don’t let any of that sink into your head.”
Manchester City and Manchester United will lock horns in the FA Cup final on June 3. Later, on June 10, Guardiola’s team square off against Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League final.