Manchester City’s next 10 years will be built around one player, insists chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak | OneFootball

Khaldoon Al Mubarak – the chairman of Manchester City – has insisted that the future of the club will be heavily centred around the starring role of one first-team player.

The lead Manchester City official has been addressing supporters off the back of a hugely underwhelming campaign across competitions for Pep Guardiola and his first-team players, succumbing to widespread injury and fitness problems along the way.

And ultimately, the belief in many circles is that those injury problems cost the club in seriously competing for the biggest honours; exiting the Premier League title race by December and failing to reach the Champions League last-16 for the first time since 2012 were among the most notable collapses.

But despite the struggles in a campaign that ended as the first season without major silverware since Pep Guardiola‘s first at the club in 2016/17, there were bright moments in parts, particularly when it came to securing the long-term future of the club.

Among those was Guardiola’s decision to further extend his contractual agreement at the Etihad Stadium, taking him through until the end of the 2026/27 campaign with his previous deal originally due to expire at the end of June 2025.

Speaking during his annual end-of-season interview with the club’s official media channels, Khaldoon Al Mubarak spoke openly about the relationship with the club’s most successful head coach, particularly during the most difficult of times during the most-recent season.

“One thing we have with Pep, which is so fundamental, is one word: Trust. We have trust, it goes both ways,” Al Mubarak insisted.

“I think he trusts us, trusts me, trusts the organisation, the club, and we trust him,” he added. “That trust is what, in good times, allows you to keep winning. In tough times, is the hardest and that’s where trust really shows up.”

The season also featured other moments to celebrate, including the announcement that Erling Haaland had signed a new bumper 10-year contract with the club, in a moment that Al Mubarak believes points towards the future trajectory and direction of the organisation.

“We know what we have which is THE most prolific striker, I think, in the world. And we have Erling completely bought in to everything that is Manchester City. He’s an incredible talent, an incredible person, and he’s at the right age,” Al Mubarak explained.

“And when we look at the next 10 years, Erling is at the heart of what we’re building. And it was, for me, a pretty clear and easy decision [to extend his contract]. What we’re focussing on is the future, always. History is great, it’s lovely, we celebrate and enjoy it.

“But then the page flips, and there’s a new page to write, and the future is what we can do together. How many more leagues we can keep winning, how many Champions Leagues we can go on and win, Club World Cups, FA Cups, Carabao Cups, Community Shields – it’s writing the next chapter, and the following chapter.”

The Manchester City chairman continued on the role of the Norway international at the club, “And Erling is at the heart of it. I think this commitment [new contract] goes both ways. It’s Erling telling the club, us, he’s betting on us.

“And it’s us telling him, ‘We’re betting on you and the next 10 years, you’re going to take us to the next chapters with more trophies with more incredible success’.”