Exclusive: Manchester City legend labels Pep Guardiola’s side as ‘self-destructive’ in 2024/25 review | OneFootball

Manchester City legend Shaun Wright-Phillips has revealed what he believes went so badly wrong for Pep Guardiola’s players over the course of last season.

The 2024/25 campaign will go down as one of the most disappointing under Guardiola’s tenure, not for a lack of talent or ambition, but because of a perceived underachievement across multiple fronts.

Manchester City’s failure to maintain consistency domestically and in Europe proved costly, as the club surrendered the Premier League crown to Liverpool and exited the UEFA Champions League prior to the last-16 stage for the first time since 2012.

Many cited injuries in key positions and to core stars as primary reasons for the drop-off, but Wright-Phillips believes the issues ran deeper, pointing toward lapses in focus, mental sharpness, and individual accountability.

The former Manchester City winger, who made 275 appearances across two separate spells at the club, now feels his former side’s title-winning machine briefly fell into a cycle of errors that disrupted momentum and allowed rivals to capitalise.

Wright-Phillips’ assessment follows a summer of squad changes and reflection at the City Football Academy, with the club’s hierarchy having moved to bolster Pep Guardiola’s ranks through the signings of Tijjani Reijnders, James Trafford, Rayan Aït-Nouri and Rayan Cherki, while the wider squad has had an extended summer to recover physically and mentally.

Speaking exclusively to City Xtra, Manchester City legend Shaun Wright-Phillips indicated that Pep Guardiola’s side were ‘self-destructive’ at times during the last campaign, offering up individual errors to opponents.

“It was a strange one last season for Man City, because I felt very often they were in control and didn’t look to be in danger, but then the opponent had one shot and one goal,” the former Etihad Stadium forward said.

“I think they were a bit self-destructive in many ways, making a lot of individual errors. They looked better in the Club World Cup, but it’s just not the Premier League,” he continued.

“It definitely helps with Rodri coming back, and they have bulked up the squad, also getting [Rayan] Cherki and [Rayan] Ait-Nouri in. But we still have to remember the quality that is in the Premier League, because they can’t make the same errors this season.”

When quizzed on what Wright-Phillips thought about City’s transfer business, and whether last season’s problems had been addressed, the former England international said, “It was a weird one, and it was a stop and start season for a lot of players in terms of injuries, and they played a lot of games which led to even more injuries.”

He continued, “Players coming back now is helping in that way. The last four years have been incredible, but it also impacts them both mentally and on their body.

“What happened last season was what everyone expected to happen when they couldn’t stop winning the league, but it didn’t happen for whatever reason. The winning mentality they had is still there, it never went anywhere.”

The fresh perspective from a former club stalwart echoes the concerns raised by Pep Guardiola himself last season, who frequently warned about the dangers of complacency and physical burnout in a squad that had played more matches than any other English side since 2020.

Now, with new faces added and experienced stars rested and recovered from fitness problems throughout last season, the emphasis has shifted back to intensity and clean execution. Looking ahead to 2025/26, Wright-Phillips’ comments serve as both a critique and a challenge to City’s current squad.

With rivals like Arsenal and Liverpool continuing to strengthen via the transfer market, there is little margin for error. The recruitment of younger, more dynamic players like Cherki also signals an internal shift toward rejuvenation, aimed at avoiding the same costly mistakes.

Shaun Wright-Phillips was speaking to City Xtra on behalf of AceOdds.com.