Three English Premier League titles in four seasons has without a shadow of doubt put Manchester City and its current manager Pep Guardiola is the top bracket of world football.
The journey that began with the 2018 Premiership crown was defended the following season with a record stockpile of a hundred points. This was also the first time that City had ever defended a title since 1880 when they were founded as St Mark's. The 2019 season saw Manchester City complete an unprecedented treble of domestic English men's titles adding the League Cup and FA Cup to the Premiership triumph.
The more famous Manchester United, founded two years earlier in 1878 as Newton Heath Lancashire Yorkshire Railway (LYR), have enjoyed better fame and fortune and led to a burgeoning ranks of fans all round the globe.
Living in the shadow of their better known cross-town rivals the Sky Blues, as the team is fondly known thanks to their jersey colours since 1894 when they were also re-christened Manchester City from Ardwick, the name given to club in 1897, have had a rather bumpy ride until their 2014 move to the current facility at Etihad Stadium.
Early successes were more or less forgotten with the 1920 fire that destroyed most of the main stand at Hyde Park, forcing City to move to Maine Road, which remained their home through rather troubled times as ownership changed hands several times coupled with global political upheavals.
But once the present owners, Abu Dhabi United, were in place things really began to look up and Guardiola's 2016 arrival from Bayern Munich provided the icing on the cake.
Successful both as player and manager at Barcelona, Guardiola left Nou Camp in search of fresh challenges but his stint with the German giants was short-lived as he was head-hunted by Manchester City, setting tongues wagging about the unheard of high price for a manager. But the replacement for Chilean Manuel Pellegrini soon had heads turning as City emerged as serious Premiership title contenders immediately and did make it their own in 2018.
The present Premiership title has come with three league games still to be played. Plus City and Guardiola have the May 29 meeting with London rivals Chelsea for the top club prize in Europe, the UEFA Champions League. There are serious doubts about the original venue, Istanbul, for the game and it may all end up being played at London's Wembley Stadium after all.
Whatever the ground that gets the UEFA nod, Guardiola has the extra time on hands to get ready for the European summit clash ... and also possibly wrap up the small matter of signing Argentina and Barcelona striker Lionel Messi on free transfer.
It was yet another Guardiola master-stroke to lure 33-year-old Messi out of Nou Camp, his only home in Europe during his professional football career that kickoff in 2004. But finding the Spanish giants' asking price for the Argentine a bit too high, City and Guardiola, who had already enjoyed a fair degree of success at Nou Camp with Messi, chose to wait out another season.
Since Messi has not extended his Barcelona contract he leaves Nou Camp on free transfer and, even though there should be a beeline of clubs from all over Europe ready to break their banks for his signature, there hardly seems any interest in someone who without much doubt is one of best in the business.
With Messi strengthening to the squad, Guardiola can hope to continue his title-winning streak at City as his young guns have already proved more than capable of holding their own in what could be the toughest football league in the world.
But then Guardiola has never been one to shy away from challenges, whether it was leaving Barcelona for Bayern Munich or waiting it out to land Messi for free!
Sky Blues are certainly looking good at the top!
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