After having secured the treble with their win over Inter Milan, it’s difficult to know how Pep Guardiola can improve his Man City side.
The Premier League and European champions were, by a distance, the best team in Europe during 2022/23, and the only possible improvement on a treble-winning season is to become the first in history to do the quadruple.
With Guardiola’s constant quest for perfection well known, that seemingly unachievable goal will be on his mind before he’s expected to depart the club in 2025.
In the meantime, a shake up of the side so that no player feels comfortable in his position is possibly the only way for the Catalan to continue to exert his total authority over what is an elite group of football players.
To that end, there could be an important departure happening this summer, according to transfer expert, Fabrizio Romano.
‘Keep an eye on further business by Saudi clubs in the next few days as well,’ he wrote in his exclusive CaughtOffside Substack.
‘Let’s see if Al Ahli will be able to convince Riyad Mahrez with an important financial proposal after Benzema, Ronaldo, and Kante, who’s really close now to leaving Chelsea for Al Ittihad.’
Given that Mahrez can’t be considered as a certain starter for the Cityzens most weeks, and the fact that he’s already 32 years of age and his current playing situation is unlikely to change, a move away from the club may make sense for all parties.
Like the other players mentioned, Mahrez can’t really look a gift horse in the mouth.
There’s simply no other leagues that would be paying the kind of money that the Saudi Pro League are for players that are coming towards the end of their careers.
With the Algerian’s wages off of their books too, City can look to enter the market for a younger and more hungry exponent.