The Club World Cup is the “beginning of the new season” and “not the continuation of last season”, says Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al-Mubarak.
City endured a disappointing 2024-25 campaign in which they failed to win a major trophy for the first time in eight years and finished third in the Premier League.
They played their last game of the season at Fulham last Sunday but are back in competitive action just 24 days later at the expanded 32-team Fifa tournament which starts on 14 June in the United States.
“The team will take the rest that they will take right now, then they start pre-season and then immediately straight into the Club World Cup,” said Khaldoon in an in-house club interview.
“We’re excited to come in as champions. The format actually, I really like it.”This is the beginning of the new season, not the continuation of last season.”
Pep Guardiola’s men travel to the US having won the event two years ago in its previous guise, beating Fluminese in the final in Saudi Arabia.Khaldoon said City want to be ready with their “new squad” for the start of the tournament.
AC Milan midfielder Tijjani Reijnders has been heavily linked with a move to Etihad Stadium, while City are also interested in Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White.There will be two transfer windows this summer – one before the Club World Cup, from 1-10 June, to allow Manchester City and Chelsea to sign players.It will then close close for five days before running again from 16 June to 1 September.
