The sky seems to be the limit for the Sky Blues after their treble win.
Manchester City leapfrogged Arsenal to a third-successive Premier League title last season and won an historic treble, also claiming the FA Cup and the Champions League in a feat matched only by the Manchester United side of 1999 under Sir Alex Ferguson. 2023/24 offers Pep Guardiola’s blue side of Manchester the chance to do something no team has ever done before: win four-straight top-flight English titles.
City go into the season defending three titles and numerous records, including Erling Haaland’s goalscoring mark from 2022/23, his first season with the club. We could identify dozens of storylines for a club that is virtually inarguably the best in the world right now, but most of them would boil down to this:
Dynasty
Lewis Hamilton, the Tom Brady-led New England Patriots, Djokovic-Federer-Nadal, Ferguson’s United; all sporting dynasties from the last quarter-century. That label is a controversial one, but there’s little question that the Guardiola-led City are knocking on the door of that exclusive club. As the club continue to rack up titles, this season is a good time to examine their dynastic credentials.
Last season’s Premier League title was City’s ninth, putting them joint-fourth all-time alongside Everton, whose last title was in 1986/87. They’re still four behind Arsenal, 10 behind Liverpool, and 11 behind leaders United. In that regard, 2023/24 does not afford an opportunity to change their all-time prestige.
But City only won two of their nine titles in the twentieth-century, and five of them have come in the last six seasons. Similar periods of dominance are difficult to come by in English history. Manchester United under Ferguson won three-straight titles on two separate occasions and nine titles in 11 years between 1993 and 2003. Bob Paisley’s Liverpool went seven-from-nine in the ‘70s and early ‘80s. Only two other teams ever won three-straight titles: Arsenal in 1933-35 and Huddersfield Town (!) in 1924-26.
From that perspective, we are left with something of a triumvirate of English football dynasties; Ferguson’s United, Paisley’s Liverpool, and Guardiola’s City. Most would put them in that order, too. To win a fourth-straight next season would be to achieve something neither of the other two teams could, a potentially-siginficant historical marker depending on when Guardiola chooses to leave the club.
In Europe, City’s provenance is more complicated. They now have one Champions League title, putting them level with Aston Villa as far as English clubs go but still behind the likes of Nottingham Forest, Chelsea, United, and Liverpool. Paisley won three and Ferguson got two in their time. Pep will always be a solid third in that discussion unless City can get another one during his tenure, beginning with a quest for a second-in-a-row in 2024. Nobody besides Real Madrid has won consecutive CL titles since A.C. Milan in 1989-90, but the sense that City is clearly the best club in Europe has grown over the past season and if they stay out of their own way, it’s difficult to envision what team could be relied upon to stop them in the league or in the CL.
This dynasty, though, faces a threat to legitimacy from beyond the pitch.
Rulebreaking
The Premier League has for some time been investigating more than 100 alleged breaches of Financial Fair Play rules, an investigation that the club has been accused of attempting to thwart at every turn. It could take years for the investigation to finish and for any potential consequences to be meted out following a presumptive legal battle. At the very best, City risk having an asterisk placed beside all their title wins since 2009. At worst? Who knows.
It’s possible that nothing of consequence presents itself on this topic next season, given the timelines at play. But there’s little question that City is slowly being backed into a corner, and there’s no telling how it may react.
Stability
Dynasties rely on stability. Manchester City’s squad turnover in each offseason has been modest in recent years, as deadwood gets offloaded and incremental but impactful improvements are made. Erling Haaland – one of the most impactful and immediately successful transfers ever – was still only one player.
This summer is shaping up to be more of the same. João Cancelo – who spent the latter half of last season on loan with Bayern Münich – appears to be headed out the door, possibly to Arsenal as a continuation of the Gunners’ trend of buying up City’s unwanted players. Cancelo, though, hasn’t featured in a prominent role for City in 12 months. Unlike the Portuguese, late-season hero Ilkay Gündogan had been crucial in City’s treble win and is on his way to Barcelona. Late-season goals aside, it’s difficult to project the impact Gündogan’s absence could have on the City team, so getting a replacement is important. The signing of Mateo Kovacic from Chelsea goes some way to doing so, but the landing of Declan Rice would have done even more if City hadn’t pulled out of that overheated race against Arsenal.
City’s pursuits otherwise are low-key for the time being. Real Madrid won the race to sign Jude Bellingham, but Croatian World Cup star Josko Gvardiol remains on the table. Interest in the defender may take on a greater urgency should Aymeric Laporte make good on rumors that he could leave this summer.
Players to Watch
Erling Haaland. Obviously.
Naturally any big-money signing City make this summer – like Gvardiol, potentially, or Rice – will also be a story to watch. City’s left-wing is also set-up for some mild intrigue with Jack Grealish and Phil Foden both in good form. Grealish has won out in the battle for now despite good goalscoring numbers from Foden, who has also featured in a more central role. How will Guardiola manage playing time between the two given Foden’s continued development and his clear affinity for Grealish’s link-up and defensive play?
One player who hasn’t even had much of an opportunity to prove his worth is Kalvin Phillips, who played less than 600 minutes this season. The midfielder joined from Leeds United last July and so far has proved remarkably patient. For how much longer?
Season Expectations
Unsurprisingly following a treble victory, meeting expectations will be a tricky task even for Manchester City. Winning the Premier League seems to be the minimum given the lack of an obvious close contender, barring a leap forward from Arsenal or Manchester United. And now that City have broken the ice continentally – and given the lack of similarly strong sides in Europe for the moment – another Champions League final appearance might even be a reasonable ask. Manchester City will be the favorite in every game they play until there’s a significant change.