Failure means Manchester City would not ‘deserve’ Champions League: Pep Guardiola

Manchester City's Spanish manager Pep Guardiola shaking hands with Belgian midfielder Kevin de Bruyne on the pitch at Wembley. PHOTO: AFP

UPDATED May 20, 2025, 12:23 AM

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BOURNEMOUTH – Pep Guardiola said Manchester City would not “deserve” to qualify for the Champions League if they finish outside the top five in the English Premier League, but is confident they will get over the line.

City have had a miserable season by their high standards, ending the campaign without a trophy for the first time since 2017 after an upset 1-0 defeat by Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final at Wembley on May 17.

The deposed Premier League champions are sixth in the table ahead of the visit of mid-table Bournemouth, but are just one point behind Newcastle United, Chelsea and Aston Villa, with a game in hand.

The top five clubs in the Premier League will all qualify for next season’s Champions League.

“If we are not in the Champions League, it’s because we don’t deserve it and we’ll play the Europa League. So it is what it is,” City boss Guardiola said on May 19.

However, he remains bullish over his team’s prospects of continuing their presence in Europe’s elite club competition since the 2011-12 campaign.

He said: “I am thinking we are going to qualify. My thoughts and the way I think – I think that. We need four points. That is the main target. I am absolutely (confident of qualifying).”

“Newcastle won the Carabao Cup (League Cup), Liverpool won the Premier League and City won the Community Shield. The other teams didn’t win anything,” the Spaniard added.

The May 20 game at the Etihad will be the final home match for long-serving Belgium midfielder Kevin de Bruyne, who is leaving the club at the end of the season. But Guardiola said his own priority, and that of his captain de Bruyne, was achieving qualification for the Champions League.

“I am going to decide the best, the best players to win the game against Bournemouth, that’s for sure. Kevin will get or deserve what he deserves. That is the best moment and best compliment for his incredible trajectory and what he has done,” he said.

De Bruyne has cast doubt on whether he would sign a short contract extension to play at the June 14-July 13 Club World Cup in the United States.

“I think in a way I have to take care of myself because if I get injured in the Club World Cup, what am I going to do? Nobody’s going to take care of me at that point. So there’s a big chance probably I won’t play it, but I don’t know, maybe yes,” said the playmaker who turns 34 on June 28.

For Bournemouth fans, the match could be one of the last opportunities to see some of their young stars play for the Cherries.

Centre-back Dean Huijsen will join La Liga side Real Madrid after they activated the 20-year-old’s £50 million (S$86.6 million) release clause.

Left-back Milos Kerkez, 21, is reportedly in talks to sign for champions Liverpool while winger Antoine Semenyo, 25, is also the subject of much interest, including from Manchester United.

Manager Andoni Iraola in the documentary Bournemouth, Don’t Call It Cinderella Anymore, said: “For a club like Bournemouth, it’s very difficult to have the best players aged 24, 25 or 26, for example, so we have to take risks, find those players when they are 18, 19, 20, when they haven’t made the big step yet.

“We have to trust them when they are not yet finished products. We encourage them to come here and take this first step in the Premier League with us; if they then continue with us, so much the better for everyone, especially for us...

“But even if it doesn’t end that way, it’s still a path we’re used to, and I think it’s very positive for the players.” AFP, REUTERS

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