Pep Guardiola

Manchester City are set up to serve their manager, and close contact with key club figures is pivotal to his happiness.

Exhibit Two. Erling Haaland is 21, a serial goalscorer, and was available at a bargain price from Borussia Dortmund thanks to his circa €60m buyout clause. His response was not to sulk but to get on with the job. Twenty-three – in 2018-19 – is the only lower total under Guardiola. This made the trip more attritional (City secured a semi-final berth) and three days later the side were at Wembley to play Liverpool again, for a place in the FA Cup final (they lost 3-2). Then, after three victorious league games (Brighton, Watford and Leeds) and the home semi-final leg against Real Madrid, it was back to the Spanish capital. Publicly Guardiola’s mantra is that he has to win or the bell will toll for his tenure. Guardiola was not convinced that a 36-year-old was right for the side and so no move was made. But, although defeats are detested, more important to him is how the side perform because this is a function of the stability he and the club have in place. If this season is rated City’s finest for the excellence almost from first whistle to last, there is a recognition that for Guardiola and his staff the closing month or so was perhaps the toughest. The Guardian has been told the latter characteristic, in particular, is a great strength because it allows a sixth sense regarding his players, his side, the opponent and the sport. This is the story of a Manchester City title triumph that is about trust, faith, mutual respect, working in concert and, most of all, excellence. Guardiola is a man of high intelligence and sensitivity. It could not have had Sunday’s happiest of endings without Guardiola’s close relationship with Khaldoon al-Mubarak, the chairman, with whom he speaks before and after every match.