Manchester City legend Sergio Aguero has claimed that Pep Guardiola is the “only” person who can turn things around for the club after a challenging few months.
City scraped an FA Cup victory over League One’s Leyton Orient on Saturday, having initially fallen behind in the game. They are 15 points adrift of PREMIER League leaders Liverpool, having played a game more, and face two extra Champions League fixtures after failing to finish in the top eight of the new league phase and automatically qualify for the knockout rounds.
A rebuild has already restarted to replenish an ageing squad, with Omar Marmoush, Abdukodir Khusanov, Vitor Reis and Nico Gonzalez all expensively signed in the recent transfer window.
City began 2024/25 looking to win an unprecedented fifth successive league title, but now face a battle just to ensure they don’t fail to finish in the top four altogether.
“This year I think it will be very difficult [to win the PREMIER League]. They started very well but they had a bad few weeks,” Aguero told Sky Sports News.
“In the Champions League, the objective is to go as far as possible. It is very hard. The objective should be to do as best as possible in the PREMIER League as well. But I think Guardiola is a very good coach and the only one who can change the situation. It won’t be easy.”
City were unbeaten across all competitions this season until a shock Carabao Cup exit at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur in late October. That turned into five straight defeats, while the team didn’t win again until early December. The worst of those struggles have eased, but a costly Champions League loss against Paris Saint-Germain and a PREMIER League thrashing by Arsenal have been alarming.
Guardiola signed a new two-year contract in November, at the height of the crisis of results, and has already been at City far longer than he ever was at Barcelona or Bayern Munich. This will be the first genuine rebuild of his illustrious managerial career to date.
When Guardiola was asked if he feared for his job this week, the Catalan was emphatic. “I don’t know if a doctor will be asked about his position. I know in some stadiums they say that ‘you’re getting sacked in the morning’ but I don’t have that feeling.
“Obviously I am here, I am still here because of what we have won in previous seasons, if not I probably wouldn’t be here but that’s the relationship that we have. If things don’t work we’ll shake hands and move on, but I don’t think I’m going to be thrown out on the street.”
