Pep Guardiola is a basketball aficionado and has often been seen courtside in America trying to learn from one of the world’s most intense sports. The Manchester City manager holds Michael Jordan in high esteem and it feels as if the next two months may be the club’s version of the basketball legend’s Last Dance documentary for some of their senior players. The FA Cup is the NBA championship for those wondering where they may start next season.
City face a second trip of the season to Bournemouth, where their 32-match unbeaten run ended in November, hoping to reach a semi-final at Wembley for the seventh successive year. Guardiola and his side have barely recovered since losing Rodri, City’s Jordan according to his coach, and a second defeat by Andoni Iraola’s men on Sunday would remove any chance of a trophy for the Spaniard and his ageing charges this season. Jordan was asked for one great final year with the Chicago Bulls. Guardiola, who regards the Club World Cup as the start of the 2025-26 campaign, needs two months from his creaking squad.
City are the only team left in the competition to have won it since Nottingham Forest triumphed in 1959. They are favourites to lift the trophy for the third time under Guardiola but they face arguably the best-coached team in the country and losing would not go down as a shock. A victory on the south coast would be an ideal platform for City to achieve ambitions up to the end of May, proving to themselves and others they are in the process of reclaiming their status.
The futures of Ederson, John Stones, Nathan Aké, Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gündogan, who returned after a year away, and Jack Grealish are uncertain, and Bernardo Silva attracts annual interest. It would be surprising if all were to depart this summer but some almost certainly will, and no one wants to end on a low. Kyle Walker will almost certainly not return from his loan with Milan, which he eagerly arranged in January, leaving with a haul of medals after eight years.
The Club World Cup is another potential trinket to add to the collections for Guardiola’s old guard but they are not currently capable of competing with Real Madrid.
Fitness problems have caused Ederson, Stones and De Bruyne to miss numerous games. Guardiola believes he needs more durable players to cope next season with the rigours required to battle on four fronts; five if you count the sojourn in the United States. City will have the option to bring in players before the Club World Cup, which could hasten the sale of those under contract. De Bruyne’s deal expires mid-tournament.
De Bruyne has started 12 of City’s 29 Premier League games this season. Gündogan has been a regular but doubts abound over whether he has the physicality and stamina for another year in England. Their shared part in City’s successes will go down in history but neither is offering Benjamin Button vibes.
Grealish looks in need of an exit to reignite a career moving in the wrong direction, having played 605 Premier League minutes, almost a thousand fewer than Savinho. On a positive note, the Englishman has played every minute of the FA Cup run – 270 minutes – and will be desperate for another full match.
He has just over a year to find form and regular football in order to push his way into Thomas Tuchel’s plans for the 2026 World Cup, for which England will almost certainly qualify. Grealish was picked for the 2023 Champions League final when he was fully trusted by Guardiola to do what was demanded of him in the big games, but is now often an unused substitute in critical fixtures, showcasing his talents against Salford City, Leyton Orient or Plymouth.
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January brought investment in younger talent who can kickstart a new era but they have only heard stories of the good old days when De Bruyne et al were at their peak. One final Cup success would be the perfect ending for those on the edge, allowing them to pass the gilded baton to those integral to the next City cycle.
Guardiola, like Jordan, likes to celebrate his sporting triumphs with a cigar and will be hoping he needs to order one final round of Partagas Lusitanias for his faithful players, but first he needs to see some fire at Bournemouth.