Manchester City Chairman Lays out Exciting Vision for Pep Guardiola Era

It’s always highly anticipated by Manchester City fans. Club chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak’s annual CityTV interview draws interest from all over the world, and this year’s offering, split into three parts, has been particularly illuminating.

There was a clear acceptance that last season wasn’t good enough. Manuel Pellegrini will forever be held in high regard by City’s leadership team for the way he conducted himself during his three-year spell at the club and the style with which his side played—but Mubarak was clear in his criticism.

“I think we also can’t hide the disappointment, particularly this year,” he said. “I think all of us came with high expectations for this season, and I think, at the end of the day, I cannot hide the disappointment of myself, obviously Sheikh Mansour, I know the fans of the club, and I’m sure the entire team.”

Pellegrini’s achievements are clear—a league-and-cup double in his first season, having scored 156 goals in all competitions, and a vast improvement in the UEFA Champions League—but there were limitations in his management style that became all too apparent in his final 18 months. During that period, there was startling regression that sullied his tenure as a whole.

However, he released the handbrake and began moving City in the direction the club’s owners wanted the team to travel in.

Sheikh Mansour, Mubarak, Txiki Begiristain and Ferran Soriano all want to see City play an open, attacking style of football. Pellegrini’s version proved at times to be flawed, but he has evolved the playing style, and Pep Guardiola will inherit a side far closer in style to the one he favours than if he had taken the job three years ago before the Chilean’s involvement.

GEOFF CADDICK/Getty Images

Mubarak’s honest assessment of last season’s failings can be tempered by his optimism in every other area of the club. City are profitable again and ready to spend big in order to help Guardiola reshape the squad and turn the team into a side capable of domestic dominance and European success.

The club’s academy is enjoying sweeping success at every age level. The City Football Group (CFG) is growing, with the club's name becoming known the world over. And the women’s teams in both Manchester and Melbourne are becoming dominant.

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Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak on 15/16, Guardiola and the season ahead.

Interview part 1/3: https://t.co/a9nv7JEQgR pic.twitter.com/OC9afd8nII

— Manchester City FC (@MCFC) June 5, 2016"

“We have made a profit again," Mubarak confirmed in the third part of his interview released on Tuesday. “We are constantly moving in the right direction financially as a club, and that’s one of the things I’m particularly proud of.

“Sheikh Mansour had a dream from day one that he would invest in a club, he would build value, he would put a lot of commitment into a club, but that that club would be financially sustainable and would be profitable.

“That dream is a reality. It works. We are one of the top clubs in the world. We are financially sustainable, and we are profitable.”

It’s huge step forward for a club hamstrung by debt before Mansour’s takeover in 2008 and one hit by UEFA’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) sanctions in 2014. With the increased revenue from the new Premier League TV deal set to be added to the club’s coffers, FFP concerns have surely been forgotten.

All of which leaves Guardiola in a position to spend big—and the City squad needs it. Pellegrini leaves behind some genuine quality—Sergio Aguero, David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne—but there are also some areas that are creaking badly and in need of regeneration.

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The shot - @DeBruyneKev #mcfc https://t.co/SRv2N6d5jh

— Manchester City FC (@MCFC) June 6, 2016"

Mubarak made it clear he expects City to be active in the transfer market. Indeed, Ilkay Gundogan has already arrived, signing from Borussia Dortmund for a fee of around £20 million.

Mubarak believes there’s more to come and laid out plans to let players leave.

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Part 2⃣ of Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak's end-of-season interview is live on CityTV.

Watch: https://t.co/xatF1qsRT5 pic.twitter.com/qOdLp8pehq

— Manchester City FC (@MCFC) June 6, 2016"

"Pep has a particular way that he wants to manage the squad, a particular way that he wants to play and we will need particular players that I think will join the team that fit and will be moulded to the way he'd like this team to play,” Mubarak said.

"And there are some players that the time is right for them to move on. We will have some changes this summer, we will invest as we've always done in this club and in this team.

"We will provide the necessary resources for Pep to build a team that has the ambition and the capability to go and win back this Premier League for us, to go as far as we can and try to win the Champions League, and as I said earlier to keep pushing at the cups."

Mubarak is right to be bullish, even if City underwhelmed for large periods of the season just past.

Guardiola is the most coveted manager in world football. The fact City managed to barge their way to the front of queue in order to bring him to the club is a huge statement. This is the man every player in the world wants to work under in order to develop their technical and tactical quality.

He works with intensity unmatched in the game, playing possession-based football that's difficult to combat. He demands an incredible amount from his players, but the rewards tend to be significant, with 21 trophies already secured in his relatively short management career.

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Part 3⃣ of Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak's end-of-season interview is live on CityTV.

Watch: https://t.co/Qqk2I0HUHx pic.twitter.com/uXgD3F9pkF

— Manchester City FC (@MCFC) June 7, 2016"

He improves players, extracting every ounce of ability from those willing to buy into his methods. He also believes in youth, which was hugely attractive to the club’s owners making the decision to approach him.

At Barcelona, he gave 22 youngsters their first-team debuts and made youth the centre of his approach. With City having spent in excess of £150 million building a new academy in 2014, they need a manager serious about youth development to fully realise their dream of producing world-class players from the surrounding area.

Everything is in place. By the time Guardiola’s first season has ended, the disappointment of Pellegrini’s final year in charge will seem like a distant memory.

Rob Pollard is Bleacher Report's lead Manchester City correspondent and will be following the club from a Manchester base throughout the 2015/16 season. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @RobPollard_.