Manchester City

Josh Lobley
BBC Sport journalist

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has been speaking to the media before Sunday's FA Cup quarter-final at Bournemouth (kick-off 16:30 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Guardiola spoke about Bournemouth's style of play: "I wouldn't say they are chaotic. They have a special way to play and it works. They have had a really good season and football would be boring if all the teams played in the same way."

• He said he and his players are still not concerned about the outcome of the 115 charges against the club: "It has been over a year with that. Nothing has changed over another one or two weeks."

• The manager confirmed that everyone has returned healthy from the international break: "Some are a little bit tired, but the others are good. Ederson is good - he has trained the past two days. Let's see tomorrow [if he or Ortega plays]."

• There is still no update on the future of Kevin de Bruyne, who is out of contract in the summer, with Guardiola adding the decision is "between the club, the player and his agent".

• Guardiola is "delighted" with Abdukodir Khusanov's start to life in England: "He wasn't expected to play this many games but he has really special quality. He is so fast and shows his passion in many actions. He has helped us a lot."

• Asked if Rodri could return for the Club World Cup in June, Guardiola said: "I don't know - I hope. It would be nice, but it's the wrong decision [to make] right now. I rely on what the doctor says. We have to be sure that he is fine."

• The prize money for winning the Club World Cup is almost £100m, but Guardiola said he and his players do not deserve any bonuses if they were to win the competition.

Follow all of Friday's FA Cup news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Image source, Getty Images

As BBC Radio Manchester recently broadcast their Manchester City Fans' Forum, we asked if you think this season has been a disaster or one you can accept.

Here are some of your comments:

Steve: Ridiculous to say the season has been a disaster when the season isn't over. Even if we finished fourth it isn't too bad in an injury ravaged season. Manchester City will be back dominating next season. At least we aren't Manchester United.

Nick: Any City fan must surely be pretty relaxed about this season. Large numbers of the squad have just had four seasons as ridiculous and brilliant as you could dream of. Yes, losing Rodri hurt us, but other players have dropped off this season and that is fine. A regroup and three or four new players in the summer and next season you will see City again.

Ed: No other team has won the Premier League for four consecutive seasons because it is such a big ask. To expect to win for five consecutive seasons is probably impossible. So from a City perspective it has probably been a poor season. However I think there are 16 teams in the Premier League that would love to be in City's shoes at the moment and if they would consider themselves to have had a brilliant season. It's all about perspective.

Kevin: The underperformance this year is primarily due to the superhuman demands on the squad over the last four seasons. The initial blows inflicted by Rodri and Bobb's injuries have been made worse by burnout and more injuries in the case of a number of other players. The squad needs further refreshing but the biggest challenge for Pep is to rethink/rework his possession football tactics. He can and will do it. In Pep we trust.

Which player has appeared in the most Premier League wins for Manchester City?

Come back to this page at 17:00 GMT for the answer

Manchester City are plotting a move to re-sign Bayer Leverkusen right-back Jeremie Frimpong, 24, with Liverpool also interested in the Netherlands defender. (Teamtalk), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column

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Manchester City fans joined BBC Radio Manchester's fans' forum to discuss the side's campaign so far and their expectations going into the season after winning a record fourth consecutive Premier League title in 2023-24.

Martin: "When I looked at the transfers and the squads I thought we were probably favourites for the title. I didn't think Liverpool had really strengthened, Arsenal hadn't. I thought it was probably going to be us [winning the league], but I was OK if we didn't win it.

"I don't think it has been a crisis. I know that word has been thrown around and everyone is doing emergency meetings at the moment but it is reality versus expectations."

Owen: "Man City weren't good enough in the summer. Ilkay Gundogan was brought back to fill a hole that he had left a year before. Why wasn't he just extended? Savinho has turned out to be great but we were taking a gamble on a 20-year-old who had not had much experience of top flight football.

"Then there was Oscar Bobb, another young winger. Everyone pinned their hopes on him and expected him to be a star player and you can't do that."

What do you think, has it been a season of disaster or one you can accept? Tell us your thoughts here

Listen to the Forum here

Image source, Getty Images

Premier League clubs have agreed the dates for the summer transfer window.

The window will open early, between Sunday 1 June and Tuesday 10 June, due to an exceptional registration period relating to the Fifa Club World Cup.

It will then reopen on Monday 16 June and close on Monday 1 September.

Image source, Getty Images

Earlier this week, BBC Sport asked its fan writers to detail a player who really needs to step up in the final few weeks of the season.

City fan Freddie picked out Phil Foden, saying "it is difficult to enjoy" watching him play at the moment.

We put that to our pundit Nedum Onuoha for his thoughts:

There is definitely something that seems off this season with Foden - but we are probably noticing it more because it has coincided with Manchester City's drop in form.

In addition to that, there are more eyes on him after winning PFA Player's Player of the Season for 2023-24 and helping City win a fourth title in a row. No-one would have expected him to achieve that again this season, although I am sure he will have hoped he could have himself.

This year though, Foden does not look the same and it does not feel the same. That is highlighted by the fact it took him a few months to score his first goal in the league as that is not something we have become accustomed to.

The main indicator is that, because of the way this season has gone for him, he is not even a guaranteed starter in Pep Guardiola's side.

It is always difficult to speculate around the mental side of what a player is or is not going through, because we just do not know. But he will not be happy within himself at the way he has been playing, so perhaps that is weighing him down.

City have also lost more games this year than in the past few seasons combined, so that can affect people in different ways.

I would imagine that Foden just wants to be playing good football and scoring for a club he supports and loves, so it is tough to watch.

From a supporters' perspective, the past four or five months have been tough to watch in general. The small moments that fans have been able to celebrate in recent seasons have not come as often this time around.

That could be down to injuries, form, or other factors, but it is not what they would have hoped for overall.

There are nine league games left and a very clear end point for Guardiola's men. Where you finish matters, but how you arrive there matters more.

Finishing with hope going into next season is important because you do not want a lingering negative feeling about what could be ahead.

Nedum Onuoha was speaking to BBC Sport's Katie Stafford

Image source, Getty Images

This is the first ever FA Cup meeting between Bournemouth and Manchester City.

Bournemouth won 2-1 against Manchester City in November - their first win against City, having not won any of their first 21 meetings in all competitions (D2 L19).

This is just Bournemouth's third appearance in the FA Cup quarter-finals, losing 2-1 against Manchester United in 1956-57 and 3-0 against Southampton in 2020-21.

Man City have won their past seven FA Cup quarter-final ties, with these coming in the past eight campaigns (exception being 2017-18). Their run of reaching the semi-final in six consecutive campaigns is already a record in the competition.

There have been many standout free-kicks in the FA Cup over the years, so BBC Sport has wound back the years and selected a few to celebrate all over again.

Manchester City's playmaker Kevin de Bruyne slotted home a brilliant free-kick against Cardiff City on 28 January 2018, leaving commentator Guy Mowbray to offer an admiring: "How clever was that?"

The Belgium midfielder made the Cardiff wall jump yet the ball did not even leave the floor as it rolled coolly into the far side of the goal.

Image source, Mirror and Express

Thursday's newspaper back pages hone in on how Manchester City and Chelsea could earn up to £97m in prize money from this year's Club World Cup.

The two sides qualified because of their recent Champions League wins and could earn the biggest prize money ever awarded in club football over a seven-game format this summer.

It comes amid ongoing talks of the gap between Championship and Premier League teams and the financial differences between many of the top-flight teams.

The expanded Club World Cup, featuring 32 clubs, will take place in the United States from 15 June to 13 July.

Southampton will demand more than £100m for 19-year-old winger Tyler Dibling with the Englishman wanted by Manchester City and Tottenham. (Telegraph), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column

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Image source, Getty Images

The winner of the newly expanded Club World Cup will secure up to $125m (£97m) in prize money, Fifa has announced.

The overall prize pot, shared between all 32 teams based on different factors, will be $1bn, with about half that figure divided between all participating clubs and $475m awarded on a performance-related basis.

As a result, Manchester City and Chelsea - the two Premier League sides in the competition because of their recent Champions League wins - could pocket the biggest prize money ever awarded in club football over a seven-game format.

In a statement, Fifa president Gianni Infantino said: "Fifa will neither retain any funding for this tournament, as all revenues will be distributed to club football, nor will it touch Fifa's reserves, which are set aside for global football development through the 211 Fifa Member Associations."

Freddie Pye
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

When watching Phil Foden at the moment, it is difficult to enjoy in many ways.

We are seeing a player struggling for form, playing without expression, and perhaps battling mental fatigue after some of the most remarkable seasons by the age of 24 ever witnessed.

Not many superstars in the game have won the number of individual accolades Foden has, before even taking into consideration the boatload of collective silverware he has played a vital role in under Pep Guardiola.

However, he is the man many Manchester City fans will want the squad to turn to for a revival in form in the final weeks of the campaign to drive the club over the line in the Premier League and as far as possible in the FA Cup.

This is his club - he is perhaps the player who cares the most about it deep down because of his roots. In a time of real need, he is the one to carry us through a difficult end to a season that has brought about various challenges, not least for Foden himself.

Whether it is a run of form in the centre of the park for City, or simply the providing of big moments in front of goal, fans will almost certainly look beyond the campaign endured by Foden as a whole if he can deliver when it really matters most.

Find more from Freddie Pye at City Xtra, external

Belgium midfielder Kevin de Bruyne, 33, has held talks with MLS side San Diego over a free transfer when his Manchester City contract expires this summer. (Sun, external)

Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column

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With the Premier League top two fairly set in stone and the relegation places all but decided, we asked former England midfielder Fara Williams to pick her final table from third down to 10th.

Nottingham Forest will hang on to third based on what they have built this season in terms of being defensively hard to break down and playing in transitions very well. They are finding ways to win games by playing to their strengths.

I do not think Chelsea are good enough to secure fourth. I have put Manchester City there because they have enough firepower and always seem to finish Premier League seasons really well. They have not been in good form but they have that know-how and still a bit of a fear factor against some of the teams they play.

I have Chelsea in fifth because if Cole Palmer can refind his form they will have a good run of games. Newcastle in sixth - where they currently sit - as I think they will continue on the same trajectory with their run of fixtures.

The rest is really difficult. I have put Bournemouth seventh as their pressing and high-intensity play will see them pick up form again and rise a few places.

I have Aston Villa eighth as their focus will be on the Champions League, then Brighton ninth and Fulham 10th as I do not think their form will improve significantly. They are still impressive finishes.

Having said this, it has never been so close in this area of the table from what I can remember. These teams are likely to finish within one win of each other so much can change on one result.

Fara Williams was speaking to BBC Sport's Nat Hayward

France midfielder Eduardo Camavinga, 22, is open to joining Manchester City this summer amid concerns about his place in the Real Madrid squad. (Football Insider), external

Portugal winger Bernardo Silva, 30, hopes to stay at City this summer and see out the final year of his contract. (Mirror), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

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AC Milan will permanently sign 34-year-old Manchester City and England defender Kyle Walker in the summer. (Gazzetta dello Sport - in Italian), external

Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips is pushing for a return to Leeds United following his loan spell at Ipswich Town this season. (Football Insider), external

Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool have all been watching River Plate's 17-year-old Argentine winger Franco Mastantuono, who has a release clause of about £35m. (Teamtalk), external

Want more transfer news? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

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Katie Stafford
BBC Sport journalist

What does Erling Haaland do best - besides scoring goals? Break records.

And that is just what he did on Saturday as he became the fastest player to reach 100 Premier League goal involvements with his penalty kick against Brighton.

Since his arrival at Manchester City in July 2022, the striker has scored 84 goals and provided 16 assists in 94 games, figures which tally to see him comfortably surpass Alan Shearer's previous record of 79 goals and 21 assists in 100 games.

Haaland and Shearer are now the only players who have reached the figure in their third season in the Premier League. Sergio Aguero, Thierry Henry, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Les Ferdinand and Matt le Tissier all managed it in their fourth seasons.

It is also important to note that Haaland reached this milestone with more goals and fewer assists than Shearer, which is unsurprising given he won the Premier League Golden Boot in his first two seasons at City following his move from Borussia Dortmund.

But this season has been difficult for the Norwegian given the decline in City's performances and results. A lack of service is a likely cause in his dip in stats.

Having said that, he has still scored 29 goals in 39 appearances in all competitions and 21 alone in the Premier League. That is only bettered by Liverpool's Mohamed Salah who has netted 27 top-flight goals so far.

Haaland has a goal or assist every 103 minutes this season in the league, but he was managing it every 63 minutes in his first season and every 80 in the last campaign.

So the 24-year-old has another record to his name and while he is by no means in a goal drought, he is at least perhaps performing at more of a human rate.

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Manchester City and Brighton.

Here are some of your comments:

City fans

Scott: A fabulous game of football from both sides. Brighton employed the high press with great success, shutting down City's attacks at source. City used the wings excellently, and should have reaped more rewards, but for wayward finishing. On the whole, a fair result.

Keith: City have arrived at a crossroads for Pep, and he hasn't got the team to play the same way we did. Things have to change, either by the style of play or with the players retained. Why does Pep retain Lewis, Gvardiol, Ederson, or Nunes?

John: Sadly, this was the day City's Champions League chances all but disappeared. Liverpool, Arsenal and Nottingham Forest will take first, second and third, Chelsea will take fourth while Brighton are in brilliant form and will take fifth. City and Newcastle are fighting for sixth.

Brian: City struggle to kill off games and because of this struggle to hold on. They made progress today but defensive errors continue to halt the team success. We have high possession stats but poor shot stats - it is a boring watch. Brighton are excellent on the counter-attack and City struggle with the speed of such forward play. Qualification for Europe is going to be a challenge. We need to be more aggressive up front.

Brighton fans

Fran: A mixed performance but also a good point. To be disappointed having a draw at City shows how far we have come. Just more clinical finishing for those two clear chances and we would have taken all three points!

Steve: Oh dear, two golden chances to win it! I suppose before the game we would take a point, but how good is it to feel slightly disappointed to only draw away at City. This team is showing real class and potential. Let's hope we can keep these guys for a while before they are poached.

Jimmy: Minteh's one-footedness cost Brighton here. If he had a right foot, he'd have had a tap in, instead of lunging two footed and missing the ball completely.

Stan: Brilliant performance from the Seagulls today. I would prefer a win but happy with the draw. Seagulls soaring into Europe.