Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has dismissed labelling his team as one of the title contenders for this season’s UEFA Champions League, Afrosport reports.
The Citizens had a disappointing 2024-25 campaign by their high standards as they narrowly qualified from the league phase by finishing 22nd before losing to Real Madrid in the knockout playoffs.
Expectations are higher for City this season after spending almost £360 million in the winter and summer transfer window, but Guardiola sees another difficult campaign in front for his team which begins with at home tie against Italian champions Napoli on Thursday.
“Apparently we are not [contenders]… and just enjoy the moment, the journey, we are happy to be here,” the Spaniard said.
“In the past we have been, and just won one, so that is a lot for difficulty. Just focusing tomorrow, the game we have to play, start well this competition, like apparently they have more games than the past, the previous seasons, but when you start with a bad result, always it is more difficult and last season we draw, first game against Inter [Milan], hopefully this season we can do better, get a better result.”
Meanwhile, Napoli boss Antonio Conte still called Guardiola the best coach in the world despite their dip in form in the past year.
“It’s incredible this, it is incredible this and because… Yeah, but I think it’s the atmosphere of Manchester because with Sir Alex Ferguson, he was for a long time in Manchester United, now Pep, to stay for 10 years in the same club, is incredible,” the Italian stated.
“It means that there is great synergy, great energy between him and the club and the players. To stay 10 years is very, very, very difficult because you have, every season, to find new energy and to put the energy with the old players, with the new players.
“But we are talking about, in my opinion… the best coach, the best coach in the world, yes.”
KDB back in Manchester 💙#UCL pic.twitter.com/3YacYldh7F
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) September 18, 2025
Man City and Napoli previously played in the Champions League group stage during the 2017-18 season with the Citizens winning 6-3 on aggregate.
They also met in the 2011-12 campaign with the Partenopei winning 3-2 on aggregate.
The fixture will see a return for influential Belgian midfielder Kevin de Bruyne who left on a free transfer in the summer.
