Manchester City to unveil new badge as they embark on 'exciting' era under Pep

Manchester City is set to unveil a new badge before the forthcoming season as they embark on a new era under a new manager Pep Guardiola.

“We always look to the future without forgetting the past. I believe this new badge is exactly that. It is looking at the future while taking into account completely the past and bringing that history to be part of that future. I’m very excited about it. It comes at a time as we embark on a new era with Pep and it comes in an exciting time,” said  Khaldoon Al Mubarak, chairman of Manchester City FC, told the club’s website.

In the third and final instalment of the interview, Al Mubarak speaks about adding to the existing four clubs; Manchester City, Melbourne City, New York City and Yokohama F. Marinos, what success looks like for all four clubs, about the growth of women’s football in the UAE, the commitment to their fans and the community as well as aspirations for the future.

“In footballing terms our objective is consistent.... that is to win. I’m sure lot of times during the season fans were very frustrated and rightfully so. Our club is a special club. I really believe that. Our fans are special. They’ve gone through a lot and they’ve always stuck with this team. There needs to be constant recognition from the players and from everybody involved in this club towards our fans. They are the ones who will carry us in our tough times,” he concluded.

TRANSFER

Manchester City will become a major player during the summer transfer with the arrival of former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola.

“I think we will have some changes this summer. We will invest as we have always done in this club, in this team. We will provide the necessary resources for Pep to build a team that has the ambition and capability go on and win back the Premier League for us. To go as far as we can and try to win the Champions League,” said City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak in the second part of an exclusive interview with the club’s website.

Guardiola will be given the licence to bring in new blood to suit the ambitions of a club which struggled to finish fourth in the Premier League last season despite winning the League Cup and making to the semifinals of the Champions League for the first time in history.

“Pep has a particular way he wants to manage the squad. A particular way he wants to play. I think we will need particular players that I think would join the team that fit and moulded in the way he would like this team to play,” said Al Mubarak.

LEICESTER

Manchester City are banking on former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola to do a Leicester next season.

City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak could not hide his disappointment at the failure of the team to live up to the "high expectations".

“While they (Leicester) did not have the resources of many other clubs in the Premier League, they had in abundance passion and commitment. that won them the league,” Al Mubarak told the club website in an exclusive interview congratulating the Foxes for their "tremendous achievement."

He expects City to take a leaf from Leicester who caused one of the greatest shocks in sporting history by winning the Premier League for the first time.

“I take a lot from the passion they have shown. From the first game to the last game of season, they gave it all. You had a team that fought hard, that had a lot of passion and a lot of commitment. You can see it in every game they played. Sometimes passion and commitment doesn't win you trophies but it certainly pushes you to limits," he said.

But felt the same could not be said of City who finished fourth in the Premier League in 2015-16 failing to reclaim the title they won under Pellegrini in 2014.

“It took us unfortunately to the last game of the season to what I would categorise as the bare minimum,” he said.

However, they won the League Cup and reached the Champions League semi-finals, losing to eventual winners Real Madrid.

The Abu Dhabi-owned club is putting their money on Guardiola to re-ignite the passion and commitment of the team to score goals.

Guardiola has left Bayern Munich to replace Manuel Pellegrini as City manager this summer.

"I'm absolutely excited about Pep joining our team," said Al Mubarak. "I consider Pep to be one of, if not the best manager, in football today.

"We are getting a manager that epitomises passion and commitment. He is a proven winner."

Victorious

Guardiola was victorious in the Champions League twice at Barcelona, including their treble-winning campaign in 2008-09.

He also won the German league title with Bayern for three successive seasons, although he failed to win the Champions League with the Bundesliga outfit.

“We are getting someone that I think will be an incredible asset to Manchester City. I have no doubt he will transform our team to a new level. I have to say I have lot of expectations," said Al Mubarak looking back objectively over their past achievements.

“Over three years we won our second Premier League title in history. Won two League Cups under Manuel (Pellegrini), reached semifinals of Champions League for the first time. We've scored an incredible number of goals. In the first season, we scored 151 goals in total which was a club record. We should be grateful for these achievements. At the same time we also can't hide the disappointment particularly this year," he said.

“Our performances particularly in the Premier League have been inconsistent. I felt this year we weren't just ourselves... a lot of things weren't clicking. Our home performances have been the worst in many years. Normally we are solid at home. We are tough to beat at home and we don't lose too many games at home," he said.

“I think this year we slightly went off track. All of us came with high expectations for this season. I don’t mind losing the Champions League semifinals to Real Madrid. I really feel bad that in both legs we left too much to do. That’s what disappointed me. It was an important opportunity to go the final of the Champions League. That I regret,” he said.

Consistency

On a brighter not he hailed the consistency of Joe Hart and Sergio Aguero who were in the running for individual awards while Kevin de Bruyne provided the silver lining.

“Kevin du Bruyne has been a revelation. We've invested a lot in bringing Kevin to the club. He has proven that he is worth every penny. He is an incredible talent. He has shown it this year and when he has been on the pitch we have been a different team," he said.

He denied there was pressure on Pellegrini to focus on the Champions League.

“Our objective is to win the Premier League every year. That is our target and to go as far as we can in the Champions League and try to win the Champions League. These two are equally important and neither compromises the other,” he said.

Looking to the future, Al Mubarak felt Guardiola’s hunger for success in England would work in City’s favour.

“I think the environment we have at Manchester city is deal for someone like Pep to grow and evolve into an even better manager. He is a very unique character and someone our fans and English football will embrace. He will be an asset to the Premier League and I think we are going to do great things together,” he said.

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