Pep: "Be careful Real Madrid, we are on our way"

Pep Guardiola has now won the Champions League trophy three times as a coach after previous triumphs with Barcelona in 2009 and 2011. City's victory also secured the side a treble following their Premier League and FA Cup successes this season.

He is just the second coach to lead an English club to such a treble, following in the footsteps of Alex Ferguson's Manchester United in 1998/99.

Speaking to the press after the win, Guardiola was full of praise for his players and issued a warning to the European rivals, Real Madrid.

"We are just 13 Champions League [titles] away ... so be careful Real Madrid because we are on our way. So if you slip a little bit, we will catch you", he declared with a wry smile.

While this huge trophy was City's first ever, Madrid have won the title a record 14 times, and are among six teams that have received a 'multiple-winner bagde' by either winning it three times consecutively or five times overall. The Spanish giants are the only side who have defended their title in the last 40 years.

City beat Madrid in the semi-finals this season, wiping them out 5-1 on aggregate, after their bitter rivals did the same to them last year, staging a massive comeback to beat the English side to the final, and then the title. 

We'll have to wait another season before we discover if City will be able to defend their title, with the final to be played on home turf at Wembley.

 

June 10, 2023