Noel Sliney
BBC Sport

If there’s any solace for Manchester City in the wake of their shock early exit from the Club World Cup, it’s that the squad now has a chance to recharge ahead of the new season. The 61 games played by City since August equals their most in a season since Pep Guardiola became manager in 2016.

Only three top-flight clubs in Europe have played more often over the past 11 months, albeit Chelsea will also overtake City this weekend.

Chelsea, of course, had the luxury of fielding vastly different line-ups in Europe throughout 2024-25 compared to domestically.

Manchester City, with a smaller squad, have four of the 15 outfield players currently with Premier League clubs to have played more than 100 games over the past two seasons: Tijjani Reijnders (107), Ilkay Gundogan (105), Phil Foden (102) and Bernardo Silva (101). In addition, that quartet were regular starters for their country at Euro 2024 and, with the exception of Gundogan, continue to play international football.

Only two outfield players in Europe’s major leagues can top the 4,861 minutes racked up by City’s recent signing Tijjani Reijnders for AC Milan last season, while Josko Gvardiol, Bernardo Silva and Erling Haaland all rank in the top 13 among Premier League players.

Karan Vinod
BBC Sport Journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester City’s 2025 Club World Cup campaign promised silverware, but ended in a shock 4-3 extra-time defeat to Al-Hilal in the round of 16.

Just when you thought Pep Guardiola and co had rediscovered their mojo, the campaign came to a screeching halt against the Saudi giants.

City ran through their group-stage opposition with ease, scoring 13 goals in three games and conceding just two. The wins, particularly against Juventus, were an indication that City were back to their scintillating best.

The squad had settled well into their Florida base - sunshine training at Lynn University, beach recovery sessions, and the usual Guardiola touches behind the scenes. No drama. Just a squad full of belief.

Then came the knockout stage… and Al-Hilal.

It’s a wake-up call.

So, a short-lived but dramatic journey for Pep Guardiola’s side. No meltdown, no crisis - but a clear reminder that whatever problems surrounded them last season haven't been eradicated just yet.

So what will Pep Guardiola have learned from his side's four matches at the Club World Cup, which included three impressive wins in the group stages?:

Group stage

• Man City 2-0 Wydad Casablanca
• Man City 6-0 Al Ain
• Juventus 2-5 Man City

Last 16

• Man City 3-4 Al-Hilal (aet)

Shamoon Hafez
BBC Sport football news reporter in Florida

Manchester City arrived in the United States on 12 June and, rather than shifting around from place to place with luggage in tow, they decided to set up base at the luxurious Boca Raton Resort on the south east coast of Florida.

This tournament offers significant riches and a night at the accommodation, which features a private beach, costs $715 (£521).

The team have flown in and quickly out of their matches in Philadelphia, Atlanta and Orlando, returning to a familiar base at the resort, where their families have been allowed to stay with them.

Insiders say this has contributed to a "homely feeling", with the players sharing meals together on the terrace overlooking the sea.

The 27-player travelling party have been allowed to let their hair down - and even taskmaster Pep Guardiola has had a kickabout with his players on the beach.

The team have enjoyed other sports in their downtime, such as basketball and table tennis - though Bernardo Silva joked that the 30C heat has left star striker Erling Haaland "looking like a lobster".

With their Club World Cup campaign ending in disappointment, Guardiola and his squad now face a period of reflection - and a brief window of downtime - with pre-season preparations already looming on the horizon.

Former Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo believes that the Saudi Pro League is one of the top five leagues in the world.

The all-time record goal scorer moved to the Middle East in December 2022 and recently penned a two-year extension with Al Nassr and reiterated, external that the Saudi domestic league is one of the best in the world.

"Of course, we [the Saudi Pro League] are still improving but I believe that in this moment that we are in top five [leagues in the world] already. I still believe that we will continue to improve, and we have time and we have shown in the last two years that the league is going up all the time."

Image source, Getty Images

Craig Nelson
BBC Sport reporter

Thank you for your messages this morning.

There are quite a few debates opening up as a result of Manchester City's shock defeat to Al-Hilal.

They include:

• Should fans be happy or sad about City's exit from the Club World Cup at the last-16 stage?
• What flaws have been exposed by City's defeat to Al-Hilal?
• What does Al-Hilal's win say about the relative merit of the Saudi Pro League?
• And does their victory over a former Champions League winner vindicate the Club World Cup's new format?

We will publish a selection of your messages on those subjects, so please keep them coming...

Mark: Re Simon Turner 08:17 - that [Manchester City] performance was nothing new and was how a lot of teams undid us last season. More possession, more shots but a poor conversion rate and better finishing from the opposition. Pep needs to work out how to stop the transitions.

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester City captain Bernardo Silva told DAZN that the side had to "work a lot" to prepare for another tilt at the Premier League title: "There is a lot of disappointment because we wanted to do better. We had a lot of ambition but that is football. Congratulations to them, they are a good team and it is deserved.

"It was all about controlling the transitions, they ran way too many times. There was always a feeling of danger coming from them. When we allow teams to run like that we always suffer a lot.

"I know a lot of these players. We knew the individual quality they have, a lot of these payers are my friends but we needed more concentration, more organisation.

"Hopefully we can fight again for the [Premier League] title, that is the aim and ambition. We have to work a lot to get better in some things to fight for a title."

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola spoke a lot about transitions in his post-match interview with broadcaster DAZN: "It is a pity. We have been so good here, it has been an incredible journey. We allowed them to run in transitions but we created a lot of chances. We tried until the end and congratulations to them.

"It is football, it happened in transitions. We knew their quality. Maybe it's once in a lifetime to be here and we wanted to keep going.

"When a team behaves like we have, I said thank you to the players. Hopefully we can make a good season."

Image source, Getty Images

Karan Vinod
BBC Sport Journalist

Image source, Getty Images

On the playing side, Manchester City’s shock defeat to Al-Hilal has understandably raised eyebrows.

A side that - at their best - controls matches with a metronomic rhythm looked out of sync. And if it all felt a bit familiar, that’s because we’ve seen shades of this version of City before.

This performance echoed last season's wobble, and Ilkay Gundogan's performance is a major reason why. Usually City’s silent conductor, he looked fatigued, his pressing less sharp, his control of tempo missing, and City as a whole suffered.

Fast-forward to today: same symptoms. Slower build-up, exposed in transition, and the midfield is struggling to click.

So while City’s defeat can’t be pinned on one player’s absence, Al Hilal were excellent and fully deserved their win, but it does underline how delicate City’s control game really is. When it falters, even slightly, they become surprisingly vulnerable.

Let's start with the significant financial blow caused by Manchester City's unexpected elimination from the last 16 of the Club World Cup against Al-Hilal.

Having secured three wins in the group stages against Wydad Casablanca, Al-Ain and Juventus, City had already amassed £37.8m in prize money heading into the knockout rounds.

However, following their defeat to Al-Hilal, they missed out on an additional £9.6m for the win, taking their total tournament earnings to £47.4m.

Had City gone on to win the tournament, they could have walked away with a staggering £91.9m.

To put that figure into perspective, the combined transfer fees for their new signings - Rayan Cherki and Tijjani Reinders - total £76.8m, highlighting just how costly this early exit has been.

Craig Nelson
BBC Sport reporter

Al-Hilal's gain is, of course, Manchester City's loss.

We will have a look now at the issues raised by the Premier League side's shock defeat in the Club World Cup last-16...

Tom McCoy
BBC Sport journalist

Al-Hilal’s win against Manchester City could prove to be a watershed moment in world football.

It is the first time an Asian club has defeated a side from Europe in an official Fifa tournament, with European teams having won 18 of the previous 20 meetings and two matches drawn.

The result also ends Pep Guardiola’s flawless record at the Club World Cup as manager of Barcelona, Bayern Munich and City.

The Spaniard had won all 11 of his matches at the tournament, conceding just four goals in those fixtures, but that total doubled in the space of 120 thrilling minutes in Orlando.

Image source, Getty Images

Julian, Oxford: Re Sam 08:53 - maybe this result is a healthy reminder for English clubs and the Premier League executives that the money, branding, and perhaps now even the quality of football aren’t the core things that make our league special. Rather, the fans, the culture and the history, along with the week on week scrap to win every game, are what it’s all about.

Shamoon Hafez
BBC Sport football news reporter at Camping World Stadium, Orlando

The joyous Al-Hilal fans, a large cluster of whom were directly behind the dugout, waved the blue flags of the club and the green and white of Saudi Arabia.

Exiting the Camping World Stadium, travelling supporters packed out the concourses, dancing and singing "ole, ole ole ole", while Saudi journalists hugged and kissed each other in the post-match news conference room.

One walked in with wide eyes and arms raised, screaming "Mabrook" in Arabic, translating as "congratulations", almost in disbelief as to what he had witnessed.

A journalist from the media outlet Arryadia called the result "one of the biggest in the history of Saudi football" - but added that the country's shock 2-1 win over Argentina at the 2022 World Cup will "always be top".

Image source, Getty Images

A lot of money has been spent to try to grow the Saudi game's profile - more than £700m has gone on bringing players to the Pro League, while Portugal great Cristiano Ronaldo's arrival at Al-Nassr two and a half years ago was a significant signing.

Saudi Arabia will also host the 2034 World Cup - a decision that has been defended by Fifa president Gianni Infantino amid significant criticism - with the human rights campaign group Amnesty International describing it as "reckless".

Infantino - the man behind the new 32-team Club World Cup format - has argued that staging the World Cup in the Gulf kingdom can be a catalyst for social improvements.

Saudi Arabia has faced years of scrutiny over its human rights and environmental record. Its World Cup bid was backed by the Football Association in December after it received assurances that all fans would be welcome.

Former Chelsea defender Kalidou Koulibaly, who scored in extra-time to help Al-Hilal claim a shock victory over Manchester City, told broadcaster DAZN: "We knew it would be difficult against one of the best [teams] in the world. We wanted to show our talents. We are so happy because we wanted to show Al-Hilal had the talent to be here. It is an amazing feeling. This team showed great mentality."

Image source, Getty Images