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Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al-Mubarak is proud of his team’s achievements despite disappointment in the Champions League

DUBAI: Manchester City Chairman Khaldoon Al-Mubarak has expressed pride in Pep Guardiola and his players after a season that earned two national trophies but ended 1-0 in the Champions League against Chelsea last Saturday .

Kai Havertz’s goal in the first half meant the new English champions couldn’t score a historic treble, but Al-Mubarak said he was “very, very proud” of what the club achieved during a difficult season.

“When you reach the Champions League final, which is the climax in football and in sport, I think it’s an incredible achievement,” he said. “We worked so hard for so many years to get to this point. It’s about building blocks, about growing and achieving our goals. And to achieve goals, you will miss goals. It’s part of life, it’s part of football. You win, you lose in the final, that’s football. “

Mubarak admitted that Manchester City’s involvement in the planned European Super League was a mistake he regretted and which the club learned.

“It was a decision based on a misconception that it will improve and strengthen our position as a club,” he said. “What it missed was an important aspect of how the fans felt about it.

“We will learn from this, I have no doubts. Our fans value the heart and the spirit of everything we do. “

Despite the disappointment in Porto, the season still saw triumphs in the Premier League and the Carabao Cup.

“It’s been a remarkable season in every way, but it’s also the culmination of years of hard work to achieve a level of consistency and expectation that this club has now achieved, which will compete year after year.” “Said Al-Mubarak. “You can’t win every year, but we will be there year after year. We have been playing in the Champions League for 10 years in a row and no other English club has managed that. Five Premier League titles in the last 10 years. “

Al-Mubarak set a goal ten years ago of winning five league titles in the next ten years and now says it was no exaggeration.

“It’s easy to say now, but you’ve seen it for the past 10 years and that belief was not based on prayer, it was based on clarity and planning, knowledge and the people we have in this club, a clear strategy and trust in all to implement them, ”he said. “And then the talent. You need all of that. In a league, the best team usually wins, and I think we had the best team most of the time. “

“I know Sheikh Mansoor is incredibly proud. His vision, which dates back to 2008 and what he wanted and expected for the next 10 to 12 years, has been achieved, ”added Al-Mubarak. “And looking ahead to the next 10 years, his vision of what he wants to achieve, I believe we are well placed to make it happen.”

Manchester City started the 2020/21 season without fans and in relatively poor form and had lost the championship title to Liverpool last season, which was a far greater challenge for Al-Mubarak than in previous years.

“It was a mixture of two seasons because we were in the quarter-finals of last season’s Champions League in August and we didn’t have a break,” he said. “There was a short time without preparation for the season. You come back and start the news season, still in the middle of the Covid time. I remember very well, the defeat in Lyon made us feel very uncomfortable. After we lost the Premier League to Liverpool like we lost them, then lost the Champions League, we had to be very mentally strong to recover and come back.

“Even at the lowest point, I had no doubt we were going to get it right.”

Club legend Sergio Agüero is leaving Etihad for Barcelona this summer and the City chairman is already planning to join the squad before next season.

“We have to constantly bring in talent, refresh it and, above all, when you are at a high level, be at the top,” said Al-Mubarak. “After I’ve won the league, it’s not the time to sit back and be satisfied, that would be a big mistake. This is the time to send a message that you are committed and bringing talent, not just to the squad, but to the starting XI. With Sergio Agüero we are losing a legend. Very big footsteps but I am confident we will find the right player and there are other areas of the team that require investment. Not too many, it’s not about numbers, it’s about quality. “

One thing City’s management have never deviated from is full support for Guardiola, who has now been with Etihad longer than any of his other previous clubs.

“His record here, if you see his work ethic and passion, you can’t be sure,” said Al-Mubarak. “Another thing to consider about Pep is the humanity that comes with him. He is a very special person. I knew he was in a difficult situation, at a low point, probably back in November before he signed his contract, and I look back on our meeting when we sat together, discussed a long time and really had a refresher, a realignment. I saw a man who was so disappointed in his mind because he hadn’t delivered what he needed for this club, a man who was so hungry but felt he was going to let us down.

“But he didn’t, and I had to make that clear to him. I told Sheikh Mansoor that I think we would win the league and I said I thought we would go far in the Champions League. I didn’t know if we would win, but I thought we would go far. “