Khaldoon Al Mubarak warns “nobody’s going on vacation” as Manchester City prepare for immediate return to top form | OneFootball

Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has issued a clear message of intent regarding the club’s aim of returning to their competitive best immediately.

The latest address from the club’s lead official comes just days after the conclusion of an overall disappointing season from Pep Guardiola and his players – the first campaign without major silverware since the 2016/17 edition.

Manchester City found themselves well off the pace in the Premier League by the end of December, and failed to reach the last-16 of the UEFA Champions League for the first time since 2012, as mounting injury and fitness problems took their toll on the squad.

A final shot at trophy success was granted at the end of the season although a single strike from Eberechi Eze would ensure Crystal Palace emerged as FA Cup winners in a second successive final defeat for Manchester City.

Now, with a summer upon us that allows for reflection and investment into the playing squad, Manchester City’s chairman has spoken of his own personal intentions to get the club back to its very competitive best as soon as possible.

Speaking during his annual end-of-season interview with the official club website, Khaldoon Al Mubarak issued a firm message regarding the organisation’s plans to return their first-team operation back to its very best at the earliest opportunity.

“We will be back. This season is a season that’s now behind us. Today is a new day. We start working and preparing for next season. And by the way, we’ve been doing that since January,” Al Mubarak insisted.

“And we will take all the good things and the not so good things from this season and learn from it and improve from it and get better,” he added. “And I can assure you, this Club will do everything possible to come back to the standards that we know we all can achieve and that we know, we will achieve.

“Because really, if there’s one thing I’d like right now, it’s to turn that page from last season and just immediately start focusing on next season.”

Offering an insight into the mood within the camp immediately after Manchester City’s final game of the Premier League season, Khaldoon Al Mubarak revealed, “Everyone I saw after the Fulham game, all the players, they’re excited, they’re excited about coming back.

“Nobody feels good about how we finished the season. They want to come back, and they want to come back hungry. And I can see the hunger. And these players, they want to come back to pre-season. Normally these players are off and they’re starting to think about vacation time.

“Honestly, every player I spoke to was telling me, you know, we’re coming back.  We’re ready to come back in three weeks’ time. I was speaking to Rodri as an example, he’s looking for games. Erling didn’t want to go on vacation. He wanted to stay with the physios and prepare for next season. And that’s the attitude you want. And that’s exactly why you see me so positive.”

The Manchester City chief closed, “We’re going to come back strong, with a lot of positivity. I just got off the phone right now with Ferran [Soriano].

“He spent the day with Txiki [Begiristain], Pep [Guardiola] and Hugo [Viana] today, this morning. We finished yesterday evening, our last game. And today, we’re working. Nobody’s going on vacation yet.”

Following on from those words, Manchester City’s summer transfer window activity is expected to be thrust into action as soon as next week, with reports in Italy indicating that a deal for AC Milan’s Tijjani Reijnders is close to completion.

That could see the Netherlands international make his debut for the club as soon as the end of June, with the belief that the 26-year-old would immediately link-up with his new teammates and environment for the FIFA Club World Cup.