Manchester City’s £200m reload: Why Pep Guardiola faces his defining season

Last Updated on 10 September 2025

Pep Guardiola enters the 2025/26 campaign with pressure unlike any he has faced before.
Scraping a third place finish in a disappointing 2024/25 season and poor exits from the Champions League and Club World Cup have dialed the expectations on Pep Guardiola.

Unlike other managers, the all-time greats like Pep are held to a different standard. Despite winning four Premier League titles in a row, the question marks on Manchester City‘s poor campaign are undeniable.

It wasn’t the third-placed finish that stunned fans and analysts, it was the manner in which they finished third. From 30th October 2024 to 26th December 2024, Pep’s City won 1 game in all competitions.

That run included 9 losses and 3 draws, including five in a row in all competitions and according to the Daily Mail, Pep was close to the sack.

That led to Pep spending over £200m in the January transfer window, which helped City sneak into the top four.

£388m later, Pep Guardiola and Manchester City still search for answers

Known for spending big, Manchester City staggered their spending across two windows in January and the summer window. The total spending over 2025 took their spending to just under £400m.

Manchester City Signings – 2025

Despite that much going into a costly rebuild, Pep hasn’t improved on the weaknesses that cost them the title challenge in the 2024/25 season.

They’ve started the season with two losses from three, losing to Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton Hove & Albion.

That comes after a shock exit to Al Hilal in the Club World Cup over the summer.

Of course, the season is still young and Pep’s proven his class time and time again but competition in the Premier League has never been tougher.

Liverpool won the league last season and have proceed to spend over £400m to improve their squad. Arsenal finished runner-ups and have added quality depth. Even the likes of Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur have improved over the summer.

Can Rodri’s return bring stability and success to Manchester City?

One of the major reasons behind Man City’s poor campaign, last season, was the ACL injury to Ballon d’Or winner, Rodri.

Without his calming presence in midfield, City have looked lost when defending transitions and haven’t been able to address that issue despite bringing in £100m worth of midfielders in 2025.

That coincided with Guardiola’s team not winning silverware for the first time since his debut season in the Premier League in 2016/17.

Rodri’s return brings some much-needed stability but will they be able to get back to the level that saw them dominate the Premier League for the best part of the last decade?