The high-functioning football robot that is Pep Guardiola's Manchester City will continue to operate until at least 2025. And that is far from ideal news for the rest of the Premier League – especially those who have aspirations of winning the title.
“I can’t say thank you enough to everyone at the club for trusting me," said Guardiola after his two-year contract extension was confirmed this morning. "I am happy and comfortable here. I have everything I need to do my job as best as possible.
“I know the next chapter of this club will be amazing for the next decade. It happened over the last ten years, and it will happen in the next ten years because this club is so stable. From day one I felt something special being here. I cannot be in a better place. I still have the feeling there is more we can achieve together and that is why I want to stay and continue fighting for trophies.”
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Guardiola's reign at the Etihad Stadium, which began in 2016, has been laden with silverware. Four Premier League titles have been lifted, as have four Carabao Cups. There has also been an FA Cup triumph and a couple of Community Shields. The only major honour yet to be claimed is the Champions League.
The success achieved by City under Guardiola is a by-product of the huge financial clout of the club's ownership group and an unwavering commitment to a football vision. The squad has been expensively assembled to align with Guardiola's overarching tactical principles, which have not changed since his appointment, and a Premier League juggernaut has been created as a result.
Who can stop City? It's a question that has been asked regularly over the past five years. Liverpool managed it in 2020. Arsenal may do this season, although there are very few who truly expect the Gunners to outgun Guardiola's side over the course of a 38-match campaign.
Chelsea haven't come close to stopping or even matching City since their last title win under Antonio Conte. In 2017/18, they finished 30 points behind the champions. The gap was 26 points at the end of the following campaign and 33 points in 2019/20. For the previous two seasons, it remained at 19.
Over recent years, it had become apparent the Roman Abramovich way – despite big success in cup competitions – wasn't going to enable Chelsea to reassert their Premier League dominance. Unlike in the early Russian's early seasons as owner, the Blues were no longer the biggest game in town financially; there were plenty of other clubs around Europe with far wealthier backers.
It's why those within Chelsea's new ownership group, namely Todd Boehly, Behdad Eghbali and Jose E. Feliciano, have opted to take a different approach following their takeover in the summer. Their long-term plan is similar to that implemented by City: build a strong structure with the right people to support a defined football vision.
Graham Potter was a key arrival in this respect, although the Chelsea head coach has come under pressure following a string of poor results prior to the World Cup. An all-encompassing recruitment team is also being constructed with Paul Winstanley, Joe Shields, and Laurence Stewart hired. Christopher Vivell, formerly of RB Leipzig, is expected to arrive as technical director.
The ambition is to return Chelsea to the top of the Premier League. That is admittedly something that will take time – perhaps even two or three seasons – but it is difficult to envisage the significant gap being closed to Manchester City, especially with Guardiola staying on, any other way.
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