Pep Guardiola jibes that 'other teams didn’t win trophies' as he assesses Manchester City Champions League qualification battle
Published 19/05/2025 at 14:58 GMT+1
Manchester City's season might be ending without any major silverware, but manager Pep Guardiola is counting the Community Shield as a triumph for his side. City are in a battle to qualify for next season's UEFA Champions League and Guardiola says he is "absolutely" confident they will do it. He also spoke about Kevin De Bruyne's send-off in his final home match.
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Pep Guardiola has jibed that most of Manchester City's top-five rivals "didn’t win trophies" this season as he assessed the importance of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League.
City are currently outside the five qualifying spots but only by a point ahead of facing Bournemouth in their game in hand on Tuesday evening.
They finish the season at Fulham on Sunday needing four points from their last two matches to secure a top-five finish.
Even if they do qualify for the Champions League, City boss Guardiola has said the season is not a success, with their last hopes of winning a major trophy ended as they were beaten in the FA Cup final by Crystal Palace on Saturday.
But Guardiola has said that at least Man City won't be ending the season without any silverware at all, unlike other teams around them.
"It’s important to qualify [for the Champions League], but for other teams [in contention] except Newcastle who won the Carabao Cup, Liverpool who won the Premier League, Manchester City that won the Community Shield, the other teams didn’t win trophies," Guardiola said.
"So other teams like Chelsea, who can win a title with the [UEFA Conference League] final against Betis, and Tottenham and United can win the Europa League, they are expecting to qualify for the Champions League, but it's important for every club to play this competition next year."
City could be in a better position to finish in the top five had they not dropped points against rock-bottom Southampton last time out.
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But with their fate still in their hands, Guardiola remains confident that they will get the job done.
"I am thinking we are going to qualify...I think that. We need four points. That is my target. I am absolutely [confident of qualifying].
"It is important. For the last 13 or 14 or 15 years we have been in the Champions League but if we are not there, then we don't deserve it and will be in the Europa League. It is what it is."
The match against Bournemouth will be Kevin De Bruyne’s final home game before he leaves Man City at the end of the season.
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De Bruyne played the entire 90 minutes against Palace on Saturday and Guardiola says he will get the send-off he "deserves".
"We want to win the game so we can qualify for the Champions League next season - this is what Kevin wants, it couldn't be otherwise.
"I am going to decide what is the best for us to win the game against Bournemouth, that is for sure.
"Kevin will get what he deserves, and what he deserves is the best moment and the best compliment for his incredible trajectory.
"What he has done along with some incredible other legends in this club will not be possible in the 10 to 15 years since Sheik Mansour took over the club and run this club to reach another level."
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