Lure of a second FIFA Club World Cup title adds to Ake's motivation | OneFootball

Nathan Ake says seeking to help City be crowned FIFA Club World Cup champions for a second time in the Club’s history is acting as a special extra motivation.

Ake proved a crucial component when City won the previous iteration of the Club World Cup out in Saudi Arabia in December 2023.

The classy Dutch central defender produced commanding displays in both our semi-final victory over Urawa Red Diamonds and subsequent triumph over Fluminense in the final.

After a frustrating 2024/25 campaign that was bedevilled by a number of injury setbacks, Ake is fit and raring to go once more and is part of Pep Guardiola’s squad out in the United States taking part in the newly-formatted and expanded 32-team 2025 Club World Cup.

WATCH THE FIFA CLUB WORLD 2025 ON DAZN

The 30-year-old played the full 90 minutes in impressive fashion during last Wednesday’s fine 2-0 win over Wydad AC in our opening Group G encounter.

Ake and his colleagues are now gearing up for our latest group clash later this weekend, which takes place at the magnificent Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta against Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates.

A victory for Guardiola’s side could be enough to secure our ticket through to the last-16.

WATCH: City out to prove ourselves during unique Club World Cup challenge, says Guardiola

And Ake said the prospect of helping City be crowned world champions for a second time was a source of huge extra motivation.

“If you're here, you compete to win,” the Dutch international said.

“We've seen so far that it it's not an easy job. There are so many good teams in this competition.

“But that's why we're going to take it game by game but we're very motivated to get to the final.

“Winning the 2023 Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia was a very, very enjoyable moment.

“Obviously it was our first World Cup ever and winning it as well was a unique experience because you don't get there very often.

“We took it very, very seriously. And we, you know, we were very happy in the end.

“It was great to get off to a good start against Wydad AC. And there's way more to come as well.

WATCH: Inside City: FIFA Club World Cup - Episode 2

“Obviously it was the first game and we played well in parts.

“But there's also parts where we have been trying to improve, trying to move forward and I'm sure there's much more to come.”

City’s squad here in the United States has been bolstered by four new signings across the early June transfer window, with Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Marcus Bettinelli and Rayan Cherki all arriving.

Meanwhile off the field, manager Pep Guardiola has also brought in two new faces in Pepjin Lijnders and James French to the City coaching staff with Kolo Toure stepping up from Under-18s level for the Club World Cup..

And for Ake, the chance for the squad and backroom staff to be together for a sustained period of time is proving an invaluable way to further strengthen the bond and team spirit that has underpinned so much of City’s success in recent years.

WATCH: FIFA Club World Cup Highlights: City 2-0 Wydad AC

“I think every player will agree that it helps massively,” Ake added.

“You know, these kind of things where you're away with each other for a long time and you get to know each other very easy, very quick so I think that it's been good so far.

“The staff bring a lot of energy and you can straight away see in training the quality is high with the new players also coming in and I think that this trip for sure will help with that.”

How to follow the FIFA Club World Cup 2025

DAZN will broadcast every minute and every moment from the event, with all 63 matches, live-streamed, free to view on DAZN globally*, and in multiple languages.

If you are already a DAZN subscriber or Freemium member, then the competition is part of your current membership.

To sign up for a free DAZN account now you only need an email address to register, with no hidden costs or fees.

You can then watch all the action on the DAZN App via smart TVs, smartphones, tablets, streaming devices, game consoles and web browsers.

Join now to start watching for free on DAZN.

Every City match will be covered in full across mancity.com and our official app, with our usual offering of a Matchday Centre and Matchday Live followed by a match report, written and video reaction and highlights from the US.

*DAZN is not currently available in the following territories: Belarus, Cuba, China, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria

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