“It’s not winning trophies” – Pep Guardiola outlines Manchester City’s season objectives | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola has admitted that while winning trophies is important, it is not Manchester City’s paramount objective this season.

The eight-time Premier League champions are in an embryonic stage of their transition under director of football Hugo Viana, who revamped the first-team ranks upon his arrival to the Etihad Stadium last summer.

Viana signed off on the exits of a series of senior stars beyond their prime and ushered in a new era in the blue half of Manchester, making seven new signings and arming Guardiola with fresh, hungry blood to challenge for major trophies in the years to come.

Many would argue that after a sluggish start to the 2025-26 season, Manchester City have exceeded expectations and punched above their weight this term as they remain in the running for silverware on four fronts – although the jury remains out on whether the Blues can sustain their aspirations for trophies as the season progresses.

Speaking in a press conference on Monday afternoon, Guardiola spoke at length about what he wants from Manchester City’s season amid a hunt for trophies to improve upon a disappointing 2024-25 campaign.

“It’s not about winning or not winning trophies, it’s about how the team grows up, how the team is better,” the Catalan said as he previewed the opening leg of City’s Carabao Cup semi-final against Newcastle United.

“Last season, we didn’t deserve to win more than just one trophy because we didn’t play good. The satisfaction to win a trophy when we are not playing good can happen; knock-out stages being lucky, lucky.

“It’s not about that, believe me. We are here to make the team play better, the satisfaction to make a good performance for ourselves, our fans to say, ‘We had fun during 95 minutes!’ That is the point.

“And the next game, things that we can do better, do it better! That is the target, and all the time it has been like that. And after, when you are in that process, at the end you fight for the titles and can win it.”

City have evolved in their style of play since the previous campaign, moving away from their slow build-up from the back to a more direct approach that has increasingly seen Erling Haaland drop deep and bring in the likes of Phil Foden, Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki into play in recent months.

The arrival of Antoine Semenyo from Bournemouth will also offer City another dimension in attack as the Blues hunt down Premier League leaders Arsenal, who are six points clear of the Blues at the top of the table.

Guardiola will be using the remainder of the season to embed his philosophy and principles into a new-look group whilst adapting his own methods to synergise with the strengths of the players he has at his disposal.