Haaland vows to chase titles again as City bid farewell to Guardiola, Silva and Stones

Erling Haaland used Manchester City’s end-of-season farewell event to promise supporters that the squad would push for the Premier League title and Champions League next season, even as the club said goodbye to Pep Guardiola, Bernardo Silva and John Stones.

Guardiola’s ten-year tenure at the Etihad was marked with a parade and celebration on Monday, a send-off that also honoured the men’s team’s two domestic cup wins this season alongside triumphs for the women’s team and the Under-18s. The occasion was tinged with the acknowledgement that replacing one of football’s most decorated managers will be a significant challenge.

“It has been an up-and-down season, but we are going to try to keep pushing and try to fight to win the biggest trophies we can,” Haaland told supporters. “That’s what we want to win and we are fighting to win everything again. It was a great feeling to win the Treble and we will try to win it again.”

Haaland, part of the club’s leadership group, also paid tribute to the departing players and manager. “It has been a pleasure to play with Bernardo and John — and of course Pep. We won a lot of trophies and I am happy to play with Bernardo and John because they are amazing footballers but even better people deep down. It has been an amazing journey, but we need to keep pushing and fighting even without them. Now it is time to celebrate them and they are truly legends of the club. Amazing players and amazing humans.”

City have already identified Enzo Maresca as Guardiola’s successor, with the club planning to use the summer transfer window to strengthen a squad that took the Premier League title race to the final week of the 2024/25 campaign. The task for Maresca will be to maintain the standards set across a decade that delivered the club’s most sustained period of success in their history.