
Manchester City’s Aging Core: A Looming Crisis Pep Guardiola Must Address
Aside from Haaland, Doku, Foden, and Savinho, most of Manchester City’s key players are now 29 or older. This is a risky situation—a potential recipe for disaster.
History has shown us how clubs collapse when they hold onto aging squads. Manchester United’s decline in 2014 is a perfect example—they’ve struggled to fully recover since. Serious football clubs cannot rely on too many players over 30 if they want sustained success.
Real Madrid is the gold standard for managing transitions. After 2018, Florentino Pérez systematically replaced club stars like Ronaldo, Benzema, Bale, Kroos, Casemiro, Marcelo, Varane, and Ramos. Madrid rebuilt their squad with younger talents while maintaining competitiveness. This forward-thinking strategy is why they’ve remained at the top.
Contrast that with clubs like AC Milan, Barcelona, and Manchester United. AC Milan held onto aging stars until they faded out, leading to years of mediocrity. Barcelona stuck with Xavi, Iniesta, and Busquets as the core for too long, resulting in the struggles they face today. Replacement planning should start the moment key players approach 29, but they delayed too much.
Sir Alex Ferguson also bears some responsibility for Manchester United’s current woes. He grew too attached to the team he built between 2003 and 2007. By 2012, many of those players were past their prime. Ferguson knew they had one last push left, which they delivered in 2013. Then, he retired, likely aware that rebuilding the squad would take years and the Premier League was becoming more competitive with the arrival of top managers.
Successful teams know the formula: limit your core squad to no more than three players over 30. Liverpool has managed this well, systematically replacing the team they built between 2014 and 2017. Chelsea avoided decline after 2011 by bringing in young talents like Hazard, Oscar, and Mata.
Now, Pep Guardiola faces a similar challenge at Manchester City. He needs at least five young players to rebuild and lay the foundation for a new cycle of success. Many of his current stars are past their peak, leading to increased injuries and inconsistent performances. This is new territory for Pep, as Man City is the first club he’s coached for more than four years. For the first time, he’s dealing with the decline of a squad he built in its prime.
January is around the corner, and Guardiola will be desperate to stabilize the team during the hectic schedule. The matches between December 26th and January 5th will be crucial, and he’ll hope to scrape 4–6 points from those fixtures.
Football is built for players aged 20 to 29. History has proven that holding onto aging squads leads to inevitable decline. Pep must act now to avoid City becoming another cautionary tale.
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Unimke Abana
I'm Unimke Abana, also known as Binoculars, bringing you the world of football with clear vision.
