Pep Guardiola Says City’s Season Is Already a Win – Even If Trophies Slip Away.

Pep Guardiola isn’t letting trophy talk ruin his mood. The Manchester City manager insists that no matter what happens in the Premier League title race or Saturday’s FA Cup final against Chelsea, this season has already been a success.

City are heading to Wembley for their fourth straight FA Cup final appearance, but they’ll have to put their league ambitions on hold for now. Domestically, they’ve already won the League Cup by beating Arsenal. But in the Premier League, they’re playing catch-up. Knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid in March, City could fall five points behind Arsenal if the Gunners beat Burnley on Monday. Guardiola’s side can trim that gap to two points with a win at Bournemouth on Tuesday, but Arsenal would still clinch their first league title since 2004 by beating Crystal Palace on May 24.

Still, Guardiola isn’t sweating it.

“It depends on the trophies you lift. Sometimes you lift trophies and the season has been successful. Sometimes you lift and the truth is the season has been really, really bad,” he said. “I said a few weeks ago this season has been good. Really, really good.”

On the injury front, when asked if midfielder Rodri would be fit to start, Guardiola simply said, “We’ll see.”

Despite having one eye on the title race, Guardiola plans to field a full-strength side against Chelsea. After resting Erling Haaland, Rayan Cherki, and Jeremy Doku in midweek, he’s going all out for the cup.

“It’s the FA Cup final. Two prestigious clubs at Wembley. Our fans make an incredible effort to come to London – it’s not cheap,” he said. “We try to perform as much as possible to win. That’s always the game plan.”

City have lost their last two FA Cup finals (to Crystal Palace and Manchester United), though they did beat United in the 2023 final. Guardiola remains hopeful: “I hope we can do better than the last two times. Wembley is still special. The pitch is extraordinary. We’re desperate to perform well.”

This will be his 24th trip to Wembley with City. He joked, “I’m so disappointed I don’t have a stand named after me. So many times I’ve been there – at least a lounge or a box. Maybe I have to go 24 more times.”

With one year left on his contract and no new deal yet, there’s speculation he might leave after this season. Asked about reports that two of his longtime coaches are leaving, Guardiola smirked and said, “I extended the contract with them three more years,” before adding, “Nope.”