Manchester City are losing a boardroom “legend” after 13 years, says Khaldoon Al Mubarak | OneFootball

Etihad Stadium chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has paid tribute to Manchester City’s outgoing sporting director, Txiki Begiristain during a new interview.

Al Mubarak has widely discussed Manchester City’s 2024-25 campaign, the legacy Kevin De Bruyne is leaving as he leaves the club at the end of his contract as well as Ballon d’Or winner Rodri in his end-of-season reflection of Pep Guardiola’s side.

Txiki Begiristain is leaving Manchester City in the summer and Hugo Viana will replace him as director of football as the 2023 treble winners enter a new era that will witness the arrival of four to five new signings ahead of the 2025-26 campaign.

Begiristain joined Manchester City in October 2012 and has spearheaded Manchester City’s recruitment over a 13-year period that has seen each of Roberto Mancini, Manuel Pellegrini and Pep Guardiola manage the club.

Speaking during his annual end-of-season interview with Manchester City’s official club website, chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has spoke fondly of the work done by outgoing sporting director Txiki Begiristain over the course of the last 13 years.

“He (Begiristain) is a legend. Txiki is a legend, and I don’t use that word lightly. 13 years, what Txiki has accomplished, has been integral in the success of this club, in every part,” Al Mubarak said of his boardroom colleague.

“Having an effective football director requires a particular style, a particular vision, a particular approach, and I think if you’re going to go to the Oxford Dictionary and search for ‘football director’, I think the image and picture of Txiki (Begiristain) should be the image that appears.

“He (Begiristain) is the personification of an incredible football director, in everything he has done, and everything he has accomplished, and in the way he does it. And I look back at 13 years he’s given to the club, I think the trophies speak for themselves.

“His (Begiristain’s) role and his handprint is in every one of these trophies. All these players that have come in over these years, all these players that have also exited, managing that operational side of it, dealing with multiple managers from Mancini, to Pellegrini.”

The Manchester City chairman continued: “Different personalities, all handling them with grace and eloquence, all building trust and confidence with all of them.

“And then (Begiristain) being a great custodian for the club in being very conscious in the financial side of it, which is again quite a – to get that balance between the football knowledge and the right financial knowledge, and making the right decisions both in terms of the entries and exits.

“I think he (Begiristain) has brought in over £1 billion of revenue from player sales in his 13 years with the club.

“And then he (Begiristain) has rebuilt multiple squads, and even his role now in this latest iteration with the work that he’s done in January, and the work that he’s doing together now with Hugo (Viana) this summer as we enter the Club World Cup, I think is a testament to his professionalism.”

Khaldoon Al Mubarak also spoke of the transitional process that Manchester City are now going through as they prepare for life with Hugo Viana as their sporting director, replacing Begiristain after the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup.

“Coming from the business world, I’m always a big fan of managed transitions, keeping the talent as long as physically possible, and then managing the transition in the most effective way,” Al Mubarak added.

“I’m very proud of how we’ve handled, how he (Begiristain) has handled, how the club has handled this transition, by again agreeing with him in a very timely manner over these last couple of months, so that it is going to be as smooth a transition as it’s going to get.”

Manchester City intend to complete each of their intended new signings for the 2025-26 campaign in the next fortnight before Guardiola and co jet off to the United States for the FIFA Club World Cup.