The Cityzens are heading home from the tournament far earlier than expected after paying a heavy price for their wasted chances against Al-Hilal
In the words of chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak, Manchester City viewed the Club World Cup as "a very, very serious competition", and they were going there to win it. The team's ruthless performances in the group stage showed he meant it, too. But after an enthralling 120 minutes against Al-Hilal in the last 16, City are already heading back to Manchester, digesting a chastening and embarrassing elimination from the tournament.
Make no mistake about it, City crashing out in the first round of the knockout stage to a team from outside of Europe is a massive, massive shock and a huge disappointment. Khaldoon and his fellow executives will also be cursing their early elimination both in naked financial terms and for the damage it does to their reputation of being the best team on the planet.
The tournament was supposed to be a fresh start for City after a terrible 2024-25 season as they aimed to avenge their rare trophy-less campaign. However, they were given an important reminder that Pep Guardiola's rebuild is far from complete and that it will take more time and likely even more money spent in the transfer market to give the coach the team he wants to wrestle back the Premier League crown they surrendered to Liverpool last season.
Yet there are some silver linings from City's two-week stay in the United States, and while the wounds of their elimination will take some time to heal, they might well look back upon this tournament as the first step towards re-establishing their dominance of English football.
GOAL breaks down the winners & losers from Man City's showing at the Club World Cup…
Getty Images SportWINNER: Phil Foden
Phil Foden said at the start of the tournament that "the hunger is back inside of me and I want to prove people wrong". He has done exactly that, and while Foden will be frustrated to be heading home so early having started just one of the four games, City's golden boy can take a lot of pride from his displays in the U.S.
In just 179 minutes of action across four games, Foden contributed to as many goals as he did in the entirety of last season's Champions League campaign, and nearly half the amount he managed in the Premier League. Foden's xtra-time equaliser against Al-Hilal was a goal of real quality and a reminder of his technical brilliance, while it sent out a message to Guardiola that he should have started the game.
Foden ended last season worn out physically and mentally, but he has got his swagger back, and with another break coming up he should be firing on all cylinders when the new season starts up.
AdvertisementGettyLOSER: Pep Guardiola
Guardiola can accept defeat when he knows his side did not deserve to win, but he understandably finds it hard to take when his side have done everything right yet have lost due to their inability to take their chances. The defeat to Al-Hilal was one of those days.
There were shades here of City's galling defeat to Lyon in the 2020 Champions League quarter-finals, as they created so many openings yet failied to beat the outstanding goalkeeper Yassine Bounou on too many occasions. The Morocco No.1 saved from Ilkay Gundogan, Josko Gvardiol and Savinho while Erling Haaland saw his late effort in normal time scrambled off the line. And just like against Lyon, City were undone by rapid counter-attacks and their own poor defending.
The backline remains a big concern ahead of the new campaign, and even though right-back is the club's priority in the transfer market, they might now want to look for another centre-back after rusty displays from Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake.
GeWINNER: New signings
City were in a real hurry to do their transfer business before the tournament, and despite crashing out earlier than expected, the initial signs are that they have spent very wisely.
Rayan Ait-Nouri's twisting runs against Juventus had fans cooing and he looks set to add vibrancy to City's play in a way not really seen from their full-backs since Joao Cancelo, who played his part in Al-Hilal's shock victory.
Rayan Cherki also showed flashes of what he can offer, setting up Foden's goal against Al-Hilal and scoring in the drubbing of Al Ain. Granted, he will have to curb some elements of his game to earn Guardiola's trust, above all his tendency for trickery which sometimes leads to him losing possession, but he also offers a spark that will be very useful when trying to break down stubborn opponents.
Tijjani Reijnders has shone the brightest of the three new arrivals, though, after showcasing his ability to control the play and split open defences. He wants to be the heir to Gundogan as a high-scoring, box-to-box midfielder, and he has got off to an excellent start.
And so while the trio would have loved to have picked up their first medals with their new club at the Club World Cup, they have already begun settling in.
Getty Images SportLOSER: The City brand
Even if Guardiola had understandable concerns about his players' welfare at the tournament, City's executives were delighted to be at the Club World Cup. Of course they were. As well as offering the chance to earn $150 million (£108m) in prize money for just a month's work, the tournament gave City an opportunity to further boost their already soaring brand in the U.S., as well as raise their profile in other foreign markets.
As chief executive Ferran Soriano put it: "It’s very important to be here because we are a global football club. We have our roots and we are proud of them. But you can be local and relevant and faithful to the history of the club and the fans that support you, but you can also be global and show what we do – which we believe is beautiful football – to the world."
Despite an excellent start and the sight of tens of thousands of City shirts at each of their games, their early exit will be seen as a massive failure. City thought they had done the hard part by avoiding Real Madrid in the last 16, and so losing to Al-Hilal is hugely embarrassing, especially as their opponents were without captain Salem Al-Dawsari and prolific striker Aleksandar Mitrovic.
The early exit also hits City hard in the pocket. The loss to Al-Hilal cost them $13.7m, and they would have backed themselves to have gotten past quarter-final opponents Fluminense – who they destroyed 4-0 in the 2023 Club World Cup final – and reached the semis, which would have seen them earn an additional $21m. Instead they go home with an estimated $51.7m, less than they had budgeted for (reaching the quarters) and roughly one-third of the amount they would have earned for winning the lot.