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In his annual review of City’s fortunes, Mubarak makes clear the hierarchy’s frustration with a trophyless season at the Etihad Stadium but gives no indication of a threat to Manuel Pellegrini’s position as manager, a stance the club reiterated throughout last term.
With Raheem Sterling, Paul Pogba and Kevin De Bruyne all potential transfer targets this summer, the chairman also promised City will be in a stronger position to reclaim the Premier League title and improve their modest Champions League record next year.
He said: “It was a disappointing season as far as I am concerned. Disappointing for everyone involved with the club – Sheikh Mansour, myself, the board, the management team, Manuel, the players and of course, above all, the fans. I think to end the season empty-handed – this is not what we have built here. What we have designed here is a winning organisation, so from that prospective, while there is a lot of positives that we take out of the season, from a purely results perspective it was disappointing – and I think it is a testament to how far we have gone.
“If you asked me seven years ago in seven years we will end the season second in the Premier League, we will be exiting the Champions League in the round of 16, losing to Barcelona, that we would be extremely disappointed – this is a testament to how far we have gone. The expectations now are where they should be.”
City were restricted in their transfer spending last summer, having been fined £49m – £32m of which was suspended – for breaching Uefa’s financial fair play rules. However, with European football’s governing body signalling the rules will be relaxed, City’s owner, Sheikh Mansour, is expected to sanction another lucrative outlay this summer, with Liverpool’s Sterling, the former Manchester United and now Juventus midfielder Pogba, plus the Wolfsburg winger De Bruyne all on the shortlist.
Mubarak added: “We have created a nucleus and we want to preserve that nucleus but, at the same time, we want to go to the next level. We want a squad that has the capability and quality to win the Premier League and compete in and win the Champions League, and go all the way in the two cup competitions in England.
“You will see some changes. Some players who have served us well, maybe it is time for them to move on to the next challenges, while you will see us in the market bringing high-quality individuals to fit in with what we are aspiring to coming in this summer. I can assure you this squad will be stronger and the team will be more competitive. I am both confident and excited about what is coming next year.
“I want the disappointment of last year behind me, behind us all. We have all turned the page and the energy right now is positive energy towards getting back on track and winning back that Premier League and getting a better performance in the Champions League. That is absolutely what is driving us right now.”
The City chairman also claimed that, with two Premier League titles in the past four seasons, the club no longer has to pay a premium to attract the best talent to the Etihad. He said: “We were at a point of having to pay big premiums in order to attract the type of players we wanted to attract, given that we weren’t in Europe.
“Today I think we’re definitely in a different competitive position. We’re a club players want to come to play for, we’re an institution today. We can compete head to head with all the top clubs.”
