Pep Guardiola names Champions League qualification as “the best” achievement for Manchester City | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has claimed that qualifying for the UEFA Champions League is the “best we can give to the club” following Saturday’s 2-0 win over Newcastle in the Premier League.

City, who are bidding to win a third successive Premier League title this season, are also currently undertaking their 12th consecutive campaign in the UEFA Champions League.

The Blues go into next Tuesday’s second-leg clash against RB Leipzig level, after a 1-1 draw at the Red Bull Arena in Germany last month.

Josko Gvardiol’s header cancelled out Riyad Mahrez’s first half strike, as City look to overcome the Bundesliga side and reach the quarter-finals of the competition for a sixth straight season.

Pep Guardiola’s side are still yet to win the elite European competition but reached the final in 2021 and were agonisingly dumped out at the semi-finals stages against Real Madrid last season.

City are currently 13 points clear of fourth placed Tottenham in the Premier League table, as the battle to secure Champions League football next season intensifies; with Spurs, Liverpool, Newcastle, Fulham and Brighton all separated by just seven points.

The Etihad Stadium has hosted Champions League football since 2011, and despite City’s hunt for silverware, according to Pep Guardiola, qualifying for the competition is “best” achievement for the Blues.

“If we qualify for the Champions League next season, I’ll go to the best restaurant in Manchester and make the best dinner because it’s the best we can give to the club,” said the Catalan.

“To be in the Champions League is sometimes more important than winning the Premier League.”

One of the most illustrious aspects of the competition is its commercial value, with UEFA announcing in July that €2.032 billion will be distributed to clubs competing in the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Super Cup.

Furthermore, millions are available upon successfully qualifying for the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final respectively.