Pep Guardiola’s stability ‘one of the reasons for all of Manchester City’s success’, says specialist journalist

A division of difference? Not so sure. Between Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City, there are disturbing commonalities. Thus, like PSG, the other Manchester club is owned by a Persian Gulf emirate – Abu Dhabi for Manchester City since 2008, Qatar for PSG since 2011 -. The two clubs also have, despite all their efforts, in common never to have won the Champions League. And the record is nevertheless impressive: a final and two semi-finals in 12 participations for the “Citizens”, a final and a semi-final in eleven participations for the Parisians…

>> Champions League: Pep Guardiola, a permanent double-edged revolution

However, where Manchester City shows stability is on the bench. Coach Pep Guardiola is still there since his arrival in 2016, while PSG have used four different coaches in that same period. Of course, the former Barça midfielder must nevertheless manage the same pressure. He still hasn’t won the Champions League, but he quietly advocates perseverance: “Michael Jordan, the best athlete in my opinion, won six NBA titles and played sixteen seasons. He lost more than he won“, he thus decided during a press conference before the match.

“A high level of requirement and motivation”

It is also the speech of a coach who has been able and who has been able to settle in for the long term: a considerable asset, continues Ian Cheeseman, English journalist and Manchester City specialist. “Guardiola changed the squad by refreshing the squad. But one thing does not change: there is a high level of demand and motivation. That’s how he got a lot of success. And in this case, to have the same coach over such a long period, a bit like at the time at the neighbor Manchester United, it is one of the reasons for all these successes“, he assures franceinfo.

Still, if the way remains, there is still movement: with six recruits last year, the Manchester City team was not fundamentally upset. However, and this is where PSG and the Citizens come together, City has enlisted the Norwegian Erling Haaland, who is presented as Kylian Mbappé’s great rival in the years to come.