Pep Guardiola faces an unfamiliar nightmare for the first time since arriving at Manchester City. Despite winning the treble last season, the Cityzens have lost key members of their all-conquering squad and could continue to a couple more.
While the first of those exits, Ilkay Gundogan's departure to Barcelona, was understandable due to the Catalan giants' tremendous appeal. However, the departure of Riyad Mahrez to Saudi Pro League side Al-Ahli.
Additionally, the Premier League champions are facing a fight to keep ahold of Bernardo Silva, with the Portuguese ace garnering tremendous interest from Saudi Arabia as well, forcing Guardiola to open up about the new boy on the block.
Manchester City are not alone in this department. Real Madrid lost Karim Benzema to Al-Ittihad. Chelsea lost N'Golo Kante to that exact same team as well. Meanwhile, Seko Fofana, Jota, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Rúben Neves, and Roberto Firmino are just a handful of players that could have remained in Europe but opted to head to the Middle East powerhouse.
As a result, Guardiola spoke candidly about the threat the Saudi Pro League poses to Europe's top teams. The Spaniard first started by admitting the elephant in the room: Manchester City, one of the richest and most successful clubs in recent history, lost a player to Saudi that they wanted to keep.
"Riyad got an incredible offer and that's why we could not say don't do it," Guardiola said, as per the Daily Mail. "Our thoughts were for him to stay here, definitely.
The iconic Spanish tactician went a step further and admitted that while the Saudi Pro League appeared insignificant when Cristiano Ronaldo headed for the Middle East, things are different now.
"A few months ago when Cristiano [Ronaldo] was the only one to go, no one thought this many top, top players would play in the Saudi league. In the future there will be more and that's why clubs need to be aware of what is happening.
"Saudi is not about being a threat, it is a reality. They want to create a strong league and so far they are the league who can do it. The Premier League spent more than the others because the organization is better and the broadcast rights are higher.
"The Saudi league, I don't know how long they will sustain that. But the players want to take this experience and play in that league. Saudi Arabia has changed the market."
Allan Saint-Maximin is the latest player to trade Premier League football for Saudi Arabia and a considerable wage increase. Additionally, as mentioned earlier, Bernardo Silva has offers from the oil-rich kingdom, meaning Manchester City are not yet out of the woods.
Nonetheless, the Cityzens have drawn up a list of targets to address their needs, with Crystal Palace ace Michael Olise being identified as the key man to replace Mahrez. Furthermore, the Premier League champions are pushing for a deal for RB Leipzig center-back Josko Gvardiol ahead of Aymeric Laporta's potential departure.
As for now, Guardiola's men continue their preparation for the 2023/24 season. Haaland and Co. have one game before the Community Shield clash versus Arsenal on August 6, taking on Atletico Madrid in an interesting friendly on Sunday. City have already beaten Bayern Munich and will look to overcome another European heavyweight in Seoul live on CBS Sports Network and Paramount+. Click here for more live broadcast listings.
