Without wishing to sound like one of the royals speaking at you through the television, it has been a year of renewal at Manchester City.

Out with the old and in with the new. And out, too, with bad habits that crept in during their bleak winter of 2024, when it looked like City, who began that season chasing a fifth straight Premier League title, might be in a state of worrying decline.

Manager Pep Guardiola’s interventions early in the new year ensured that City turned things around and found a solid enough base to make a late dash into the five Champions League qualification places. It was an achievement that gave Guardiola a great dose of satisfaction.

City started 2025 in sixth, but that only told part of the story. Most other teams would have finished 12th or 13th if they had been as down and out, and so plagued by injuries. That City recovered to make it 13 years in a row in Europe’s elite competition sent them into the summer hopeful of making a fresh start.

The Club World Cup was supposed to serve as that line in the sand but instead, defeat to Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia in the round of 16 underlined just how much change was required.

Ederson, Kyle Walker, Manuel Akanji, Ilkay Gundogan, Kevin De Bruyne and Jack Grealish all left. Over 1,500 Premier League appearances and 83 winners’ medals between them wiped out. But so, too, some big, big wages.

A January splurge had already brought in Abdukodir Khusanov, Vitor Reis, Nico Gonzalez and Omar Marmoush. In the summer, Gianluigi Donnarumma, James Trafford, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki joined them in the blue half of Manchester. A gross total of around £380million ($508m) was spent, but the squad’s average age dropped dramatically. City had their legs and their vigour back. Refreshed.

Gianluigi Donnarumma was among City’s signings during a summer squad refresh (Oscar Del Pozo/AFP/Getty Images)

Although there have been hiccups in the first half of this season, City end 2025 with growing optimism.

Guardiola looks invigorated compared to the haunted figure that was left scratching his head (as in, actually gouging scratches into the skin) 12 months earlier. Erling Haaland looks better than ever, Phil Foden is back to his top level and Cherki has given the crowd a new creator to be moved by. It tees up 2026 to be the year they re-establish themselves as the dominant force.

This could well be Guardiola’s final season in charge, after what will be a decade at the club. If it is, and he ends it back in the winners’ enclosure, 2025 will be regarded as the year of rearmament before his greatest battle of all.

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Best moment

Qualifying for the Champions League on the final day of the season with a 2-0 away win against Fulham ended 2024-25 on a high. It also gave Gundogan one final highlights-reel moment and allowed the away support to pay tribute to De Bruyne in his farewell game.