By their exceedingly high standards, Manchester City had a difficult season. Their trip to the FA Cup final ended in defeat, they ceded their Premier League crown for the first time since 2020, and were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League before the round of 16. But the inaugural FIFA Club World Cup™ offers the Mancunians a chance to lay down a marker as the planet’s best.
Manchester City stars Rico Lewis and Ilkay Gundogan are excited for it, especially with new competitions being a rarity in football. “I think you’ve got to take it as an opportunity to go and be part of history,” said Lewis to FIFA.
City’s young jack-of-all-trades has always enjoyed coming to the USA for preseason, but with real competition on the line, the stakes are much higher this time.
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Gundogan feels similarly. “I think it’s a great opportunity to get to meet and play teams from all around the world that you normally would not get the chance to play against,” Gundogan told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “And then at the end of the day, also, you play for a trophy. So it’s an interesting tournament, and it’s an opportunity to leave a mark straight away as the season starts.”
However, the German midfield maestro is under no illusion that this is just going to be a fun summer experience; he and the rest of the City squad are coming to the US to win.
“If you play this kind of competition, you want to get as far as possible, play as good as possible, you know, and obviously win,” said the UEFA Champions League-winning midfielder.
Off the pitch, the Club World Cup will also allow players to get a taste of life in the USA and connect with their wider fan base. Lewis, who has toured the country several times, says City will do their utmost to put on a good spectacle.
“We know what it’s like in America with the fans and how excited they are and how they enjoy watching us.”
He is also looking forward to a change in weather, trading the frequent rain of Manchester for the sun-soaked beaches of Boca Raton, where the club has made its base camp. Lewis admits the heat and humidity will make life on the pitch “very tough,” but that there are no concerns about how the conditions will affect City’s high-pressing game. He also believes the team is in good condition following the end of the Premier League season, and have the calibre of player and coach to adequately adapt to the environment.
Despite their trophy-less season, City are coming into the tournament full of confidence, having won seven and drawing two of their final nine matches.
“I feel like in the last couple of months towards the end of the season, we played some really good football again,” said Gundogan. “I think if we had played the same type of football we played for the last two and a half months, I think we would have ended up at least winning one or a couple of trophies.
“But we were not able to. So now the target is set for the start of this competition and then obviously for the next season. So, yeah, I’m pretty excited about it because I know what this team is capable of and what we can achieve again. And every single competition, every single year, is a new opportunity to prove yourself.”
City’s squad has been bolstered by the return of midfield stalwart Rodri and the additions of versatile former Wolverhampton Wanderers regular Rayan Ait-Nouri, Lyon superstar Rayan Cherki, and Dutch midfield sensation Tijjani Reijnders. Reijnders joins City from AC Milan, where he won the Italian Super Cup and last season’s Serie A Midfielder of the Year award.
Lewis welcomes both additions and thinks Reijnders will fit in perfectly in the Manchester City midfield.
“I was watching him last year and I was talking to my mates about him,” said Lewis. “He was one of my favourite players at the tournament [EURO 2024] in terms of midfielders. He’s so good at progressing to play. He’s like a typical Man City midfielder, where they keep the ball, they never lose it. And you can see that he’s got the ability to get goals and assists as well. So, I think he’s a well-rounded midfielder who’s just going to elevate our game.”
Reijnders and Ait-Nouri will be instrumental for City, making their first appearances in light blue as the club challenges for the Club World Cup, in which they will take on 2022 CAF Champions League winners Wydad AC, 2023-24 AFC Champions League winners Al Ain FC, and familiar foe Juventus FC.
