City have set their stall out by spending more than £100m to bolster their squad for the tournament and will be heavy favourites against Moroccan champions Wydad AC in Philadelphia.
Guardiola’s side fell below their high standards last term, failing to win a major trophy for the first time in eight years after finishing third in the league, being knocked out early in the Champions League and beaten in the FA Cup final by Crystal Palace.
The Spaniard let go of club legend Kevin de Bruyne and has freshened up his midfield with the signings of £43m box-to-box Dutchman Tijjani Reijnders from AC Milan and Lyon’s French maverick Rayan Cherki for £30.45m.
Ballon d’Or winner Rodri and Oscar Bobb are now back and available – after missing most of last season with injury – while £31m signing from Wolves, Rayan Ait-Nouri, will allow City to operate with a specialist left-back for the first time since the departure of Benjamin Mendy.
“I’m really happy that we were able to bring in such quality reinforcements,” said Brazil winger Savinho. “They’re training really well and integrating into a group that is really settled so that is good to see.
“I’m looking forward to getting on to the pitch with them.”
With Nico Gonzalez, Omar Marmoush, Vitor Reis and Abdukodir Khusanov joining for £200m in January and 2024 acquisition from River Plate, Claudio Echeverri, also now at the club, Guardiola has a multitude of options with a total of nine arrivals since January.
It shows Man City mean serious business but does leave plenty of questions about the squad – with Guardiola claiming he needed a smaller one.
Khusanov, Savinho, James McAtee, Echeverri, Rico Lewis and Jack Grealish all missed out on matchday squads towards the end of last season and, with 34 players listed in their first-team squad, departures are inevitable.
City’s 27-man Club World Cup squad does not include Kyle Walker, Kalvin Phillips and Grealish, with all three set for the exit – if deals can be agreed.
But, with Guardiola adamant he did not “want to have 24, 25, 26 players when everyone is fit” in his squad, there remain some big decisions to be made.
One player who confirmed he will stay is midfielder Bernardo Silva, who has been appointed captain.
Silva, who enters the final year of his contract, said: “I have had options in the past and this year – like last year – my option is to stay at Man City.”
Pick your Man City starting XI from the squad listed below.
