Guardiola: Man City’s campaign was a success, even without trophies.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said the club has had a successful season, regardless of whether they win the Premier League title or the FA Cup final against Chelsea on Saturday.

City will pause their pursuit of the league leaders, Arsenal, as they travel to Wembley for a fourth consecutive FA Cup final.

The team normally prioritises the Premier League and Champions League each season, but they are close to missing out on both. The club was eliminated from the Champions League last‑16 by Real Madrid in March, and will be five points behind Arsenal if the Gunners defeat relegated Burnley at home on Monday.

A victory over Bournemouth in their penultimate league match on Tuesday could reduce the gap to two points, but Arsenal would still secure their first English title since 2004 by winning at Crystal Palace on 24 May.

Having already claimed the League Cup by beating Arsenal, City still have a chance to achieve a domestic double this weekend.

Guardiola insists the campaign has been positive, no matter the outcome at Wembley or in the title race.

“It depends on the trophies you lift. Sometimes you lift trophies and the season has been successful,” he said. “Sometimes, you lift and the truth is the season has been really, really bad. I said a few weeks ago this season has been good. Really, really good.”

– ‘Do better’ –

After starting with Erling Haaland, Rayan Cherki and Jeremy Doku on the bench for Wednesday’s win against Crystal Palace, Guardiola is likely to field a full‑strength squad against Chelsea rather than prioritising the title race.

“It is the final of the FA Cup. The message is there are two prestigious clubs at Wembley in the FA Cup final. Our fans make an incredible effort to come down to London. It is not cheap,” he said. “We try to perform as much as possible to win. It is always the game‑plan.”

City lost the last two FA Cup finals against Crystal Palace and Manchester United, the latter of which they defeated in 2023.

“There’s excitement, of course. I hope we can do better than the last two times,” Guardiola said. “Wembley is still a special place. Everything is so nice. The pitch is extraordinary. We are desperate to perform well.”

Ahead of his 24th visit to Wembley with City, Guardiola joked that he is “so disappointed” he has not yet had a stand named after him at the home of English football. “So many times I have been there, at least a lounge or a box or something like that. Maybe I have to go 24 more times!” he added.

Guardiola has one year left on his City contract and has not signed a new deal, amid speculation that he could end his decade at the Etihad Stadium once the current campaign concludes.

When asked about reports that City’s fitness coach Lorenzo Buenaventura and goalkeeping coach Xabi Mancisidor are set to leave the club, Guardiola replied with a smirk: “I extended the contract with them three more years,” before adding, “Nope.”

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