Pep Guardiola has won six Premier League titles during his tenure at Manchester City, including the last four in a row. He also led the team to their first Champions League title.
Although Guardiola was initially set to leave the club at the end of the season, he signed a one-year extension earlier this week with the option for an additional year. This extension could keep him at the club until the end of the 2026/2027 season.
With this new agreement, Guardiola will oversee what appears to be a significant rebuild at the club, as several veteran players, including Kevin De Bruyne and Ederson, have been linked with potential moves away from Manchester City.
Alan Shearer identified seven members of Guardiola’s squad who are experiencing a natural decline, stating that it is a significant challenge for the current group to win the Premier League title again.
The former Newcastle striker said: “Looking through their current squad, you’ve got Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Mateo Kovacic, Ilkay Gundogan, Kyle Walker, Ederson, and even John Stones who are all 30+ years old, so you could argue the bulk of their squad is in a state of natural decline.
“However, you could also argue whether a little bit of their hunger may have also decreased, because a lot of those players have been incredibly successful and I don’t care who or what you are, it’s difficult to keep going again, again and again.
“They’ve done it so many times now so it’s a big ask for them to come back and go again, and only time will tell. They also have the off-field charges that have been put to them as a football club to deal with, and the questions that are going to be asked there too.
“Plenty of people will say that the current charges hanging over City shouldn’t affect the players that are on the pitch, ‘they just have to go out and play’, and I understand that, but ultimately what happens at the top of the football club always filters its way down to the pitch at some stage.
“It shouldn’t do but often it does. Having said all that, if you ask me if they’ll be there or thereabouts come the end of the season, my answer to that would be yes.”