Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has warned that the club could miss out on their top transfer targets if they fail to secure qualification for next season’s UEFA Champions League.
The Cityzens currently occupy the fifth spot on the English Premier League standings, with the top-five teams at the end of the season poised for qualification for Europe’s elite club competition.
Speaking ahead of their clash against David Moyes’ Everton at the Goodison Park on Saturday, Guardiola stated the importance of the encounter, stressing the implications of a failure to secure UCL football next season.
“It’s a good question,” said Guardiola when asked about the risk of failing to qualify. “It depends on the players we want and whether they just have one option.
If they have many, I’m pretty sure the players take a look at the ones in the Champions League, of course.”
Manchester City have endured an underwhelming season so far, suffering early exit from the UCL and League cup after a difficult spell between November and January.
The Premier League champions are also set to lose their league crown at the end of the season after winning the last four, with the FA Cup their only chance of a silverware.
“I don’t know. Maybe players come anyway and there are other ones who say they don’t want to go because of no Champions League. I don’t know. I didn’t speak with one player potentially for the next season so I don’t know.
The question is next season. If we have players who are not reliable, and they are going to stay here, we are going to have to make a larger squad. But that is the balance we have to find by talking and talking and talking”, the Spaniard added.
Pep Guardiola’s side head into the last six games of the season, knowing that they have to be victorious in all the matches to secure UCL qualification for next season.
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