Manchester City were supposed to be one of the top contenders for this year’s Club World Cup, but they exited earlier than expected. Instead, Chelsea have won their second trophy in two of the last four editions of this tournament after a 3-0 final win against PSG.
After positive Club World Cup 2025 results against Wydad AC, Al-Ain, and Juventus to take the top spot in Group G, Manchester City were eliminated by Al-Hilal in a thrilling seven-goal thriller in the Round of 16. Otherwise, they might have met Chelsea in the semi-finals, which would’ve been a winnable match for them, according to the SBOTOP Club World Cup 2025 odds.
The Sky Blues’ early exit in the Club World Cup might be a blessing in disguise since they were afforded more rest in preseason, and head coach Pep Guardiola will use this time to prepare his squad for the grueling campaign ahead.
Manchester City must fix their right-back dilemma
One of the biggest takeaways from Manchester City’s 2025 Club World Cup campaign is that they need to retool their roster further ahead of the 2025-26 campaign. And one particular position they need to fix is the right-back position.
Since Kyle Walker left to join AC Milan on loan last January, and he’s now with Burnley after signing a permanent deal this offseason, Pep Guardiola has yet to find his starting right-back. The Sky Blues went with Rico Lewis in their 2-0 win against Wydad AC, but the 20-year-old received a straight red card, so he was suspended for a couple of matches.
Guardiola went with a 3-1-4-2 formation in their 6-0 win over Al-Ain, so he had three centre-backs at the rear. And then he went with Matheus Nunes in their 5-2 win against Juventus and 4-3 loss against Al-Hilal in the Round of 16.
Manchester City have been linked with Newcastle United’s Tino Livramento and Flamengo’s Wesley Franca this summer. But the likelihood of signing these youngsters looks very slim, and there have been no other reported alternatives for the Sky Blues.
They can go after Inter Milan’s Denzel Dumfries, since they can trigger his £21.5 million release clause this month. However, the Dutchman just turned 29, and he may not be of the right age for Manchester City’s rebuild.
Grealish and Gonzalez could leave the Etihad
Another big takeaway from Manchester City’s Club World Cup campaign is that there may not be places for Jack Grealish and Nico Gonzalez this upcoming season. Grealish was not even part of the Sky Blues’ Club World Cup contingent, while Gonzalez barely played in the showpiece tournament in the United States.
Grealish, signed by the club on a £100 million transfer fee in the summer of 2021, has been frozen out by Pep Guardiola, as the head coach has been playing Savio and Jeremy Doku more. Many expect the former Aston Villa to be available on the market, as well as Kalvin Phillips, who returned to the team after a brief loan stint with Ipswich Town.
As for Gonzalez, he only played 61 minutes against Al-Ain but didn’t come off the bench against Wydad AC, Juventus, or Al-Hilal. Before this, he was a substitute for five of their final eight Premier League matches of the 2024-25 season and didn’t even come on in three of those fixtures.
With Rodri expected to come back eventually and Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki’s summer arrivals, Gonzalez is the odd man out, and the Spanish midfielder would be better off going somewhere else this summer via loan.
Manchester City sweating on Rodri’s fitness
Manchester City supporters were happy when Rodri started for the first time since his ACL tear against Juventus, and he also came onto the pitch as a substitute during the second half of their Round of 16 loss against Al-Hilal. However, against Al-Hilal, the former Ballon d’Or winner was forced off the pitch in the 100th minute, leaving the team’s fans concerned.
According to head coach Pep Guardiola, Rodri “complained about his situation” after suffering an injury setback. The Sky Blues didn’t reveal much about Rodri’s condition, but the expectation is that the Spanish midfielder should progress well into his comeback in the next few weeks. If Rodri’s setback is bigger than it seems, then the Sky Blues could reintegrate Nico Gonzalez back into the mix since he is the former’s like-for-like replacement.
Manchester City will have one more preseason match before opening the 2025-26 campaign, as they’ll face Palermo in a club friendly on August 10.
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