Manchester City aims to confirm three reinforcements for FIFA Club World Cup, says chairman

Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has confirmed that the club has already identified transfer targets and intends to move quickly in the market ahead of the FIFA Club World Cup.

Manager Pep Guardiola recently expressed frustration over the size of the squad, going as far as saying he would “quit” if City failed to reduce the number of players, citing the difficulty of leaving key names out during the final matches of the season.

Despite that, the club has been linked with several potential signings—including Morgan Gibbs-White (Nottingham Forest), Tijjani Reijnders (AC Milan), and Rayan Cherki (Lyon)—as reported by DAZN, suggesting a significant squad overhaul is on the horizon. These rumored reinforcements imply that several current players may be moved on to refresh the team’s depth and structure.

City have secured qualification for next season’s UEFA Champions League, but the club ended the campaign without major silverware, excluding the Community Shield—something Guardiola notably defended in one of his final press appearances.

Al Mubarak: “We want to be ready for the Club World Cup”

Speaking to the club’s official website, Al Mubarak outlined the club’s aggressive approach to the summer transfer window and emphasized the importance of acting early:

“I can tell you today, we have clearly identified who exactly are the targets, in what positions, and we have our clear number one option, our clear number two option,” he said.

“And we’ll go about our business, and it will be very clear, very swift. Our objective is to try to be ready with the new squad for the Club World Cup.”

Al Mubarak also highlighted the renewed motivation within the squad to reclaim both the Premier League and Champions League titles next season, acknowledging that 2024–25 must mark a reset.

He reassured supporters that the club has already begun working toward that goal: “We will be back. This season is a season that’s now behind us. Today is a new day. We start working and preparing for next season. And by the way, we’ve been doing that since January. And we will take all the good things and the not-so-good things from this season and learn from them, improve from them, and get better.”

“I can assure you, this club will do everything possible to come back to the standards that we know we all can achieve—and that we know, we will achieve.”