MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - MARCH 15: Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola during the Premier League ... More match between Manchester City FC and Brighton & Hove Albion FC at Etihad Stadium on March 15, 2025 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images) Getty Images There is no bigger critic of Pep Guardiola than the Manchester City manager himself. “This season? Really poor,” replied the 54-year-old when asked to assess his own performance over the course of a difficult 2024/25 campaign. Indeed, this season is one Guardiola will surely wish to forget quickly. “The opponents never gave us a red carpet to win the titles that we won in the past,” he continued. “My duty was to overcome the situation much better than I have done [this season].” These comments were stark, but not entirely unjustified. Guardiola has indeed been part of the problem at the Etihad Stadium. Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne (right) celebrates scoring their side's third goal of the game ... More with team-mate Ilkay Gundogan during the Emirates FA Cup fifth round match at Etihad Stadium, Manchester. Picture date: Saturday March 1, 2025. (Photo by Martin Rickett/PA Images via Getty Images) PA Images via Getty Images It’s clear City’s physical level has dropped off this season. Several key figures - see Kevin de Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan and Kyle Walker - are now into the twilights of their respective careers and so Guardiola’s team have been unable to play its usual style of high-energy, high-intensity soccer. This is where Guardiola possibly faults himself. Could he have changed approach to account for this dip in physicality? City has become more direct in its attacking play since signing Erling Haaland - and Omar Marmoush in January - but this has only exacerbated the team’s issues in covering the full pitch. Manchester City’s rebuild has already started. The club spent big to sign Marmoush, Nico Gonzalez, Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis in the January transfer window. De Bruyne and Gundogan are expected to leave City at the end of the season when their contracts expire while Walker is already on loan at AC Milan. MORE FOR YOU NSA Warning—Change Your iPhone, Android Message Settings Microsoft Warns 1 Billion Windows Users—Do Not Use Password How Much Does Disney’s ‘Snow White’ Need To Gross To Break Even? NOTTINGHAM, ENGLAND - MARCH 08: Rico Lewis, Mateo Kovacic, Pep Guardiola, Manager of Manchester ... More City, and Ruben Dias of Manchester City looks dejected after the Premier League match between Nottingham Forest FC and Manchester City FC at the City Ground on March 08, 2025 in Nottingham, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images) Getty Images Until now, Guardiola has gradually evolved his Manchester City team from one season to the next. From David Silva to de Bruyne, Sergio Aguero to Haaland, City has managed to stay competitive for honours at the top of English and European soccer. Now, Guardiola and the decision makers at the Etihad Stadium face a different sort of challenge. Managers must evolve to remain at the elite level. Guardiola has done a good job of this over the years, but he must now create a new identity for himself and his team to re-establish Manchester City as the dominant force in English soccer. Just like everyone else at the Etihad Stadium, he should be scrutinised for his performances this season. And yet Manchester City would want nobody other than the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager to lead its rebuild. Guardiola is the greatest manager of his generation. He has done it all. Now, however, he must do it all again. City and its manager is entering a new generation. Guardiola has a point to prove. Editorial StandardsForbes Accolades