Pep Guardiola: 'Man City is the best team in the Premier League at the end of the 2024/25 season'

Despite not securing any trophies in the previous season, Pep Guardiola highlighted that 2025 was the period he took the greatest pride in the dedication shown by the Man City squad.

Pep Guardiola recently made a surprising statement by ranking 2025 among the most successful periods of his time at Etihad. This caused some confusion because that was when Man City experienced a rare "trophyless" campaign, finishing only third in the Premier League and losing in the FA Cup final.

However, the Spanish tactician values the past year for the team's resilience, especially as they were continuously hit by injuries and key players lost form.

Expanding on how the team faced adversity throughout the last 12 months, Pep emotionally stressed: "We had to find a way to overcome the challenges that arose. It was one of the best seasons this group has ever experienced together. Looking back at last season from today’s perspective, I feel prouder than ever of what we showed. That is the truth."

Pep’s pride also stems from bold transfer decisions made in January 2025. That’s when he invested heavily to sign Omar Marmoush, Abdukodir Khusanov, Vitor Reis, and Nico Gonzalez, which saved the season.

The Spanish coach admitted the harsh reality: "In the end, we had to buy 3 to 4 players due to a severe shortage of personnel. Without those new signings, we wouldn’t be fourth in the current Champions League standings, and might not even be in the Conference League. Thanks to them, we became the best team in the Premier League over the last 10 to 15 matches of the 2024/25 season."

In the 2025 calendar year, Man City earned a total of 80 points, ranking only behind Arsenal (83 points) despite playing two fewer matches. Currently, they are trailing Arsenal by 5 points with one game in hand. If they defeat Sunderland, Man City will close the gap on Arsenal.