Manchester City

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Pep Guardiola says that winning the FA Cup would be a "good" way for Kevin de Bruyne to end his Manchester City career.

De Bruyne recently announced he will be leaving the club in the summer after a decade.

Speaking before City's FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest at Wembley on Sunday (16:30 BST), Guardiola said: "He has proved [himself by] the amount of minutes he has played since he announced that it is the last month for him at Manchester City.

"Yeah, it would be good."

The 33-year-old midfielder said this week that it was the club's decision not to renew his contract beyond this season.

Responding to this in the same news conference, Guardiola said: "I said the reason why."

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Earlier, we asked you to name the current Manchester City player from a series of clues.

The correct answer is Jack Grealish.

Joe Nelson
BBC Sport journalist

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

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Rodri's influence off the pitch is something Guardiola appreciates: "I love that. I love that. The guy doesn't play and I allow him to be a manager. He will help the guys there and it is the way we create a team. It is something special when the guys who are injured and don't play, they help each other. I like it a lot."

• Erling Haaland is back in individual training, but Guardiola is not sure of a return date yet: "He is getting better and he is injured and been involved [off the pitch] as well. He feels better, but I don't know when [he will be back]. The injury is not a comfortable one, I would say. He is not a small guy, but he is getting better. We will see in the next days how he is."

• The City boss has great respect for Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo: "He has been incredible - qualifying for Europa League with Wolves and now with Nottingham Forest. He has done a really good job. The guys have good skills, and I admire that they defend well and have a good spirit. They have the transition with top, top players up front."

• Guardiola said City must overcome the fans of Forest as well as the players to reach the FA Cup final: "We have a serious and tough, tough rival. The Nottingham Forest people and fans, it is a long time since they have played the semi-final of the FA Cup, but for many years we have been there in the competition."

• Despite the struggles the club have had in 2024-25, he said City could be in a worse predicament: "Too many matches this season have not been good. We will avoid bigger damage for the club. From my point of view, the biggest thing in the season is the Premier League. The FA Cup keeps us safe. But the Premier League dictates how good your season has been, and it has not been good - but it could be worse."

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

Shamoon Hafez
BBC Sport football news reporter

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Manchester City have picked up two significant results in the race to finish in the Premier League top-five and are now strong favourites to compete in the Champions League next season.

But it has been a difficult campaign overall for Pep Guardiola's men, with their four-year hold on the top-flight trophy possibly coming to an end on Sunday.

City can, though, retrieve a modicum of satisfaction if they manage to reach a third straight FA Cup final, but will Guardiola feel happy with that or will the campaign remain a disappointment?

The Spaniard faces the cameras from 12:30 BST.

Guess the current Manchester City player from these three clues:

• City broke the British transfer record to sign me.

• I played for my country at Euro 2020 and the 2022 World Cup.

• I started the 2023 Champions League final win against Inter Milan.

Come back to this page later on Friday for the answer

Manchester City and Belgium midfielder Kevin de Bruyne, 33, will not play at the Fifa Club World Cup in June as he doesn't want the risk of injury jeopardising his search for a new club. (Daily Star, external)

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

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We asked for your views on whether winning the FA Cup or qualifying for the Champions League would mean more to Manchester City this season.

Here are some of your comments:

Brian: Champions League qualification ensures the best players in the world will want to play for Man City. It provides a huge financial boost for Man City and success in the tournament ensures a financial reserve for player investment. We love the FA Cup but we need the Champions League.

Gene: The cup would be great but doesn't make up for the lacklustre season and early exit from the Champions League. Qualifying is definitely more important as well as the building of momentum and confidence to finish the season and moving towards the Club World Cup.

Ken: Questions like this are not very meaningful and do not provide accurate information. Winning the FA Cup or qualification for the Champions League? Man City of course will pursue both goals. The press commentaries keep battering Pep Guardiola and the team for their performances, which is also meaningless since the coach and the team are giving their hearts on the field. It doesn't matter how the critical pundits are underscoring City's achievements this season. Other teams would love to be in their position this season.

Bernard: Getting in the Champions League is better than an FA Cup win.

Rob: From when I first had a season ticket in the early 1980s, Man City were always everyone's favourite 'other' team as they yo-yoed between divisions. We saw Manchester United dominate domestically and never threaten to win anything other than a Second Division Championship and nearly a third-level cup. I saw nothing more than a sprinkling of quarter finals for 30 years and a surprise one-off European campaign for "fair play". Seven FA Cup semi-finals on the spin is amazing, and four Carabao Cups in a row too. Taking the Premier League out of the equation, the cups have been brilliant for us in recent years.

Manchester City defender Kyle Walker says he expected Oscar Bobb to be prominent in Pep Guardiola's plans this season.

Walker - currently on loan at AC Milan - told his BBC Sounds podcast of the freak injury Bobb suffered in training at a time when the talented 21-year-old had momentum.

Bobb fractured his leg in August having made two Premier League appearances.

"I was there in the training session when he did it," Walker recalled.

"I was devastated for him. You know, one of them injuries where no one's around him. It wasn't a tackle. It wasn't someone being daft and stupid and a late one. It was a freak incident that happened. So, yes, he was flying at the start of the season. I was watching the pre-season games. The manager was so impressed with him.

"I definitely thought that when I came back and you get the feeling from what Pep's feeling, you kind of knew that he was in his plans to play. But, I think this will make him a bigger and better player. Setbacks are sometimes good because I think it builds you as a character and builds you as a football player, because not everything in life - and definitely in football - goes swimmingly well all the time."

Listen to The Kyle Walker Podcast here

Aston Villa have held internal discussions about a potential move for 33-year-old Manchester City and Belgium midfielder Kevin de Bruyne, who will leave Etihad Stadium this summer. (Sky Sports), external

Manchester City, Liverpool and Real Madrid are among the clubs interested in Bournemouth's 21-year-old left-back Milos Kerkez. (Sky Sports), external

Finally, Nottingham Forest and Bayer Leverkusen will target 22-year-old Manchester City midfielder James McAtee if City move for 25-year-old attacking midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White or 21-year-old attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz. (Telegraph - subscription required), external

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

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Winning the FA Cup this season would mean a lot to Pep Guardiola.

He mentioned after the last round that it is now seven semi-finals in a row and those have come at times when they have been playing in the latter stages of the Champions league and fighting for league titles as well.

He stressed the importance of winning four Carabao Cups in a row too. The cup competitions have always mattered to him.

It would be huge if City get to the final and win it, not least because last time they lost a derby to Manchester United with a relatively poor performance.

It would be huge for them to get the chance to redeem themselves, but also to finish a difficult season well. We saw how important that is in the scenes after Tuesday's win over Aston Villa.

Obviously, relatively speaking, big games for City in years gone have been in terms of winning the title.

It is a different end goal, but the outcome is still celebrated. If they had scored that goal in the last minute to climb to first place, the celebrations would have been the same.

City are used to playing in these big games and the cup competitions come alongside that. You just want to finish the season well. Whatever has come before that, a good end to a season leaves you feeling really positive for the next one.

These are different types of big games for City - but they are still big games. They still want to achieve their objectives - it is just that the objectives are slightly different.

The Villa win is a real momentum-builder and they have all celebrated together.

Guardiola has spent a lot of this season making the point about how good this team has been in years gone by - like reaching seven FA Cup semi-finals in a row.

Many teams have not reached seven in their whole history so he has been more defiant in how he speaks about his team.

He wants to make sure that people understand where he is coming from, where the club is coming from, how good they have been in years gone by, and how he still believes in the team.

Many believe this era at City is coming to an end, but the manager believes in his team and, as a consequence, I think he is finding it easy to make sure the players believe in themselves as well.

What would mean more to you - winning the FA Cup and the glory of lifting a trophy, or qualifying for the Champions League?

Let us know here

Nedum Onuoha was speaking to BBC Sport's Nat Hayward

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Michael Brown believes that winning the FA Cup and qualifying for the Champions League would still represent a successful season for Manchester City.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast, the former City midfielder said: "If you end on that trophy in the FA Cup final, then yes [it's a successful season]. I am there at the weekend. It's going to be another difficult game.

"To finish third would be a positive and then it is going to be all eyes on what happens next for City. How can they be more consistent?

"There is talk about how they evolve the squad and then obviously there is the Club World Cup as well. So it's an interesting summer coming up."

Brown highlighted Pep Guardiola's celebrations after the late winner against Aston Villa as evidence of how much the result meant to the City boss.

"He was aggressive in his celebration because he knew it was tight," Brown said. "He knew he had been put under a lot of pressure.

"It was about just having patience. I was wondering was he thinking 'you know what, I will take a draw here'? He doesn't want to get beaten. I think that was in his mind - not to open up too early.

"But what an ending. Jeremy Doku finally produced a little bit of magic and of all people, Matheus Nunes gets the winner."

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We asked for your thoughts after Manchester City's late victory over Aston Villa on Tuesday.

Here are some of your comments:

Brian: The boys are back in town! Belief not grief in every section of the pitch. City were on fire against an excellent Villa side. A harsh penalty decision in the first half was the only blemish on the night. The fight for that Champions League qualification spot is truly on and this performance has boosted City's chances. This was vintage City from the new kids in town.

Peter: So, so pleased for Matheus Nunes, he's no full-back, but has played where his manager has asked him too and done an excellent job. Great win, fantastic three points.

David: A well deserved win in a tough and hard game. I still feel that Kevin de Bruyne should be offered a further contract - he is still a marvel.

• Not a Man City fan? Find and follow your team here

Brodie: Solid on the day and got the job done, but had the Villa team of late shown up it could have been a different story. Harsh decision with the penalty but otherwise our defence is improving week in week out. Would like to see Jeremy Doku start more or come on earlier in games as he always seems to have an impact.

Andrew: On another day, Nico O'Reilly and James McAtee between them create or score a couple of goals and that game becomes straightforward. We need a set-piece coach like Arsenal to turn corners into goals as we have plenty of height when squad fully fit. We need to strengthen the whole right side from base to top, especially with De Bruyne leaving. We have a boatload of talent on the left.

Alan: Relieved in the end. Horrendous time-wasting by Villa. Pep got away with one today. Slow team and just one sub before the 94th minute. But a win is a win.

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Matheus Nunes has described qualifying for the Champions League as the 'main focus' for the club.

Speaking to BBC Radio Manchester after his late winner against Aston Villa, he said: "This season has had its ups and downs. There were moments where I thought the mentality was back, and then we'd lose a game and it would seem like we didn't have our confidence back.

"In this particular end of the season we are looking sharp in every game, hopefully it carries on.

"Against Aston Villa it was a very emotional game. We wanted the three points so badly. Every game now is so important.

"We want to win the FA Cup semi-final. But I think our main goal now is to qualify for the Champions League. We aren't looking at the FA Cup like it is a secondary thing, but our main focus is to win the final four games and qualify for the Champions League."

Listen to the full interview

Wednesday's back pages are emblazoned with pictures of Matheus Nunes and his manager Pep Guardiola celebrating the Portugal international's last-gasp winner against Aston Villa.

The Daily Mail and The Star focus on Guardiola's outpouring of emotion after a vital goal in the race for Champions League qualification.

Meanwhile, The Guardian and the I newspaper show Nunes' own passionate celebrations after scoring his first Premier League goal for City. They focus on what the result means for both sides' run-ins as they prepare for FA Cup semi-finals this weekend.

Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter

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When you are as expressive on the touchline as Pep Guardiola, visual evidence can be enough to gauge the importance of an occasion.

Make no mistake, this win was big.

"You don't have to be a scientist to realise that we were playing against Aston Villa, one of the best teams, as you saw against Newcastle and PSG," said Guardiola. "They are an extraordinary team but we performed as we did in the past with the commitment.

"Qualification for the Champions League is important, of course, but sometimes we have to be calm. We must focus on the semi-final and after, we have days to prepare for the four 'finals'. Two at home, two away."

This starts with Sunday's FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest.

In Guardiola's mind, it is all so clear. It is why detached observers are led to the conclusion City's football is regimented.

Yet the reality is Guardiola is making subtle tweaks as the season goes on.

He accepts what he has now is not what even he expected when the campaign began, when Rodri and Erling Haaland were available.

No-one would have predicted Saturday's hero at Everton would be 20-year-old Nico O'Reilly, making his fourth league start. Against Villa it would be Matheus Nunes.

It's another puzzle solved for Guardiola. Another solution found.

It will be fascinating now to see if City can keep alive their hopes of domestic silverware alive.

They have failed to win at least one trophy only three times since they won the FA Cup in 2011 to end their long wait for success.

Since Guardiola's first season in 2016-17, City have always won at least one of the three domestic competitions on offer.

Read the full analysis here

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Man City boss Pep Guardiola, speaking to Sky Sports after Tuesday's 2-1 win over Aston Villa: "I'm really happy. We're in the last four in the last five games and beat a Champions League contender for qualification.

"Aston Villa is a team to the last man, one of the top teams in Europe. We played really good. We were aggressive in our duels - the back four was unbelievable.

"Football is emotion. For the fans, players, we have a lot of pressure for the club to go to the Champions League.

"The players behave unbelievably - we are so pleased.

"The season has been bad. It happens. Sometimes you have bad seasons. The level of the teams [in the Premier League] is outstanding."

On Matheus Nunes' late winner: "The action from Jeremy Doku - he can create something with his pace. He had right players in the box."

Did you know?

• City scored their latest match-winning Premier League goal at Etihad Stadium (93:21) since November 2022 against Fulham (94:34).

• Matheus Nunes scored only his second goal in his 76 Premier League appearances, after April 2023 for Wolves against Chelsea.

• Kevin de Bruyne created six chances in this match, with no other player creating more than two. It was the 60th time he has created 5 or more chances in a single Premier League game - the most times on Opta's records (from 2003-04).

• City have conceded 22 goals at Etihad Stadium in the Premier League this season - only in 2003-04, their first season at the ground, have they conceded more goals in a campaign (24).

Manchester City are eyeing Porto goalkeeper Diogo Costa as a replacement for Brazil goalkeeper Ederson, 31, who is in talks with clubs in Saudi Arabia. (Florian Plettenberg, external)

Along with Liverpool and Arsenal, City are eyeing Bayer Leverkusen's 21-year-old Germany attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz, who is valued at about £103m. (CaughtOffside, external)

On the flipside, Leverkusen have held talks with City over a deal for 22-year-old English forward James McAtee. (Florian Plettenberg, external)

Finally, City and Arsenal are set to be beaten by Aston Villa to the signing of Rosenborg's 18-year-old Norway Under-21s midfielder Sverre Nypan. (Times - subscription required, external)

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

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