Manchester City Club World Cup 2025 squad: List of new signings and predicted line-up | OneFootball

Manchester City will seek redemption for a disappointing season at the highly anticipated Club World Cup this summer.

Manager Pep Guardiola failed to win a trophy for the first time since his maiden season at the Etihad Stadium, prompting a swift reaction in the transfer market.

After signing French playmaker Rayan Cherki and Algerian wing-back Rayan Ait-Nouri, the Cityzens have unveiled Tijjani Reijnders as their newest summer addition.

The Dutch midfielder has joined Man City from AC Milan for a reported fee of €55 million following a phenomenal season in Italy.

Despite Milan’s underwhelming eighth-place finish in Serie A, the 26-year-old enjoyed a superb campaign, bagging ten goals and five assists.

All newcomers have already chosen their numbers, with Man City confirming that the former AZ Alkmaar playmaker will wear the famous number four previously worn by Vincent Kompany.

More importantly, all three will be eligible to play for the dethroned Premier League champions in the summer tournament as Guardiola named his squad for the trip to the United States.

Aggressive recruitment campaign

Guardiola has taken a third-place finish in the Premier League, a premature Champions League exit and a disheartening loss in the FA Cup final personally.

Man City have not wasted time this summer as they’ve already splashed out a staggering €137m on reinforcing their squad ahead of the Club World Cup.

Cherki’s arrival has set the Cityzens back €36m, while Reijnders’ transfer could eventually cost up to €65m, thanks to ‘easily achievable’ bonuses included in the agreement with Milan.

Wolverhampton Wanderers have earned around €37m from Ait-Nouri’s switch to Manchester, taking Man City’s outlay to an eye-watering €300m in 2025, including deals in the winter transfer window.

Most notably, City poured €70m into Eintracht Frankfurt’s bank account to lure versatile Egyptian forward Omar Marmoush to England earlier this year.

Although he wasn’t always part of Guardiola’s starting eleven in the second half of the 2024/25 season, the 26-year-old could be among Man City’s standout performers in the US.

That rings especially true now that Kevin De Bruyne is no longer on the club’s payroll, with the veteran playmaker set to join newly-crowned Serie A champions Napoli.

By leaving Jack Grealish out of his Club World Cup squad, Guardiola has perhaps signalled the end of the English forward’s career in Manchester.

How will Man City line up at the Club World Cup?

Lengthy barren runs and notorious problems with inconsistency became synonymous with Man City in 2024/25, often forcing Guardiola to change formations.

Constant rotations only compounded the issue as the Spaniard seemed unable to find the right formula despite the Cityzens’ decent league form towards the end of the season.

Guardiola’s feverish desire to beat Crystal Palace in the FA Cup showpiece had City lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, albeit without a classic defensive midfielder.

However, the same set-up with Mateo Kovacic or Ilkay Gundogan in the team yielded better results in the final two Premier League rounds as City dispatched Bournemouth and Fulham by two-goal margins.

The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager will likely stick to a similar formation in the upcoming tournament, although the personnel will be different.

Ederson will probably be in goal, with Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias likely to be the starting centre-back pairing.

Ait-Nouri’s arrival should allow the Croatian star to return to the heart of Man City’s defence, while Manuel Akanji may move to the right.

Reijnders likes to play close to the opposition’s goal, but he could be Kovacic’s partner in front of the backline.

As for Cherki, he’s comfortable playing anywhere alongside the frontline, but Guardiola may use him as a right-winger due to Savinho’s underwhelming performances throughout the season.

With Grealish out of the team, Jeremy Doku is the front-runner to play on the left, although he will need to beat Phil Foden to the starting berth.

Marmoush should operate as a second striker behind Erling Braut Haaland.

Man City (4-2-3-1): Ederson; Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol, Ait-Nouri; Kovacic, Reijnders; Cherki, Marmoush, Doku; Haaland.