The Manchester City squad for 2024/25 is looking to continue creating history, with an unprecedented five consecutive Premier League titles a possibility.
It doesn't just stop there, though. Total domination on all fronts is the goal once again. As always, Pep Guardiola’s Citizens will be favourites for every competition they compete in, including the Champions League. Such is their domestic supremacy, a fifth consecutive Premier League title (and seventh in eight years) will merely be considered the bare minimum – a Double two shy of the ultimate target.
Manchester City seem to relish the late-season title hunt, but will already have been, quietly, licking their lips at Arsenal’s early slip-up against Brighton at the Emirates.
Sumptuously choreographed football is a given, but how they set up and whether Pep has another tactical surprise up his sleeve will provide intrigue. Kyle Walker as a No.10, perhaps? Kevin De Bruyne as an old-school libero? You wouldn’t put it past the Catalan.
Already this season, Pep has introduced Rico Lewis into the starting XI, along with summer signing Savinho. Oscar Bobb was set to join them too, but for breaking his leg in training. Always looking to mend his weak spots, Guardiola seems to be attending to the criticism that he doesn’t give youth enough of a chance.
Phil Foden, another academy product, was English football’s standout performer last season, with 27 goals and 12 assists in all competitions seeing him crowned Premier League Player of the Year for the first time. As for 2024/25, he’s a trick still hibernating up Guardiola’s sleeve; a ridiculous thought given the strength of City’s start.
It took just three Premier League games to see three Blues’ wins, nine goals and two Erling Haaland hattricks. Can anybody stop them?
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Manchester City squad for 2024/25
Manchester City squad for 2024/25: Pep Guardiola's full team
GK: Ederson
GK: Stefan Ortega
GK: Scott Carson
DF: Kyle Walker
DF: Ruben Dias
DF: Nathan Ake
DF: John Stones
DF: Josko Gvardiol
DF: Manuel Akanji
DF: Rico Lewis
DF: Josh Wilson-Esbrand
MF: Rodri
MF: Kevin De Bruyne
MF: Bernardo Silva
MF: Mateo Kovacic
MF: Matheus Nunes
MF: Ilkay Gundogan
MF: James McAtee
FW: Erling Haaland
FW: Jack Grealish
FW: Jeremy Doku
FW: Savinho
FW: Oscar Bobb
FW: Phil Foden
Manchester City squad numbers for 2024/25
Swipe to scroll horizontally
No.
Player
Position
2
Kyle Walker
DF
3
Ruben Dias
DF
5
John Stones
DF
6
Nathan Ake
DF
8
Mateo Kovacic
MF
9
Erling Haaland
FW
10
Jack Grealish
FW
11
Jeremy Doku
FW
16
Rodri
MF
17
Kevin De Bruyne
MF
18
Stefan Ortega
GK
19
Ilkay Gundogan
MF
20
Bernardo Silva
MF
24
Josko Gvardiol
DF
25
Manuel Akanji
MF
26
Savinho
FW
27
Matheus Nunes
MF
31
Ederson
GK
33
Scott Carson
GK
47
Phil Foden
FW
52
Oscar Bobb
FW
82
Rico Lewis
DF
87
James McAtee
MF
97
Josh Wilson-Esbrand
DF
Manchester City manager
Pep Guardiola
Pep Guardiola (Image credit: Getty Images)
Now Jurgen Klopp’s gone, nobody else comes close to commanding the level of worship Pep Guardiola does. Yet there are fears the end is near. “I’m closer to leaving than staying,” he said back in May. This season will likely be his swansong at the Etihad.
Manchester City's key player
Rodri
Rodri (Image credit: Getty Images)
Erling Haaland’s goals and De Bruyne’s artistry are massive, but neither’s absence is felt as keenly as Rodri’s. That FA Cup final derby defeat ended the Spaniard’s run of 74 games and 474 days unbeaten – the longest in all competitions of any Premier League player past or present.
One to watch
Jack Grealish
Jack Grealish (Image credit: Getty Images)
After playing a pivotal role in City’s Treble-winning campaign, Jack Grealish became the forgotten man last term – left on the bench for key games and publicly slated. A paltry return of just three goals in all competitions even cost him a spot in England’s Euros squad. The winger will be desperate to reclaim his place for club and country.
Most likely to...
See you in court. While the likes of Everton and Nottingham Forest spent last season sweating over the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability punishments, the champions launched an unprecedented lawsuit against the organisation by way of defence. All rise!
Least likely to...
Need their goalkeeper. Ederson actually had the lowest save percentage (58.8 per cent) of any goalkeeper to make at least 20 appearances in last season’s Premier League. City still won the title with the top flight’s second-best defensive record.
Last season was understandable. A drop-off of sorts was always going to be inevitable after a Treble. With the loss of Ilkay Gundogan, Pep Guardiola did amazingly well to replace his goals while maintaining a midfield balance.
The big talking point is 115. It won’t just determine the future of the club, but also the future of how the Premier League regulates how each team can spend their money.
This season will be different because Jurgen Klopp is gone. That sounds silly, but his existence has always been ominous. The overall threat posed to City lowers without him, and therefore I think we’ll see the league won by a bigger margin this time around.
I won’t be happy unless Pep extends for another year. I don’t think any City fan wants to even think about the day he leaves, and as it stands that day is creeping ever closer.
Our key player will be Phil Foden. Kevin De Bruyne will be used sparingly now, whereas Foden is THE man who can do it all. He knows it, too.
Our most underrated player is Jeremy Doku. Most wingers take a year to adapt to a Pep system, but Doku already has the fundamentals you can’t teach nailed down. All that’s needed for him to explode is a refinement of his end product and you’ll see the league’s best winger.
Look out for Oscar Bob. Most will already know him after his last-minute winner at St James’ Park last season, but this kid is the closest thing to David Silva the club has had since he departed.
Fans think our owner is exempt from criticism. Which isn’t the case – materially he’s given City fans everything beyond their wildest dreams. Ultimately though, I feel his vision for the club and football in general is one that’s gradually bringing about a disconnect between the club and fans, which is something I think will worsen over the next decade.
The opposition player I'd love here is Declan Rice. Had we signed him, we’d have won back-to-back Trebles. It would weaken Arsenal to redundancy and simultaneously give us that link man from the No.6 to the No.10 which is a void left by Gundogan.
The opposition player who grinds my gears is Antonio Rudiger. I know Real Madrid aren’t domestic opposition, but we play them every season now. I hate how good he is at being an aggressive front-footed defender. This one’s a backhanded compliment, I guess.
The active player I'd love to have back is Leroy Sané. Him on the left, Doku on the right. That’s pacy, direct perfection – perfect for Erling Haaland, too.
The player I'd happily drive to another club is Jack Grealish. ‘Ball retention’ is a myth and I don’t care how many meaningless stats you shove in my face. It simply means ‘being able to play the ball short’, which any player in our team can do. Has not justified the price tag.
The pantomime villain will be Jamie Vardy. My favourite non-City player – I’m glad to have him back. He’ll no doubt whip out an amazing s**thouse celebration that’ll remind Neal Maupay that he runs this town.
The thing my club really gets right is the football!
The one change I'd make would be employing actual bar staff for busy games, as opposed to kids who don’t want to be there and don’t pre-pour pints before the half-time whistle goes. The service in the ground is basically non-existent.
Our season ticket prices are getting increasingly worse, which feeds into the point I made about the ownership and growing disconnect it’ll bring about.
I'm least looking forward to playing Real Madrid. It’s going to happen again and this time Kyle Walker will be even older… oh, and they have Kylian Mbappe now too.
The fans' opinion of the gaffer is that we can’t speak highly enough of Pep. Forever the pioneer of modern football, we just hope he’s coming for Fergie’s 13 league titles.
If he left, he should be replaced by Carlo Ancelotti. I’m thinking trophies. I won’t be used to us not winning everything when Pep goes, and I feel Don Carlo would be the closest to sustaining our current rate of silverware. In terms of identity/romance, though, I have a feeling it’ll end up being Vincent Kompany.
Ed is a staff writer at FourFourTwo, working across the magazine and website. A German speaker, he’s been working as a football reporter in Berlin since 2015, predominantly covering the Bundesliga and Germany's national team. Favourite FFT features include an exclusive interview with Jude Bellingham following the youngster’s move to Borussia Dortmund in 2020, a history of the Berlin Derby since the fall of the Wall and a celebration of Kevin Keegan’s playing career.
