“Whoever wins the league is the best team in the league” – Manchester City CEO insists Cityzens are not ‘obsessed’ with winning Champions League
Manchester City CEO Ferran Soriano has warned Liverpool that they are aiming to continue their dominance of the Premier League next season. He also claimed that they do not make the Champions League "the core of our objectives."
The Cityzens have claimed four out of the previous five Premier League titles, with their latest one secured at the Etihad Stadium on the final day of the season in dramatic circumstances.
However, Manchester City are still aiming to be crowned the champions of Europe for the first time in their history. Their manager Pep Guardiola is searching for his first victory in the competition since 2011.
Despite this, though, Soriano has claimed that Manchester City will continue to prioritise domestic dominance, as he told the Dr Football Podcast (per The Mirror):
“We don’t make this [the Champions League] the core of our objectives because of what I said; luck plays a role in the Champions League because there are a handful of games that you can have a bad game in, in the semi-finals and you’re out.
“Whoever wins the league is the best team in the league. We say internally, the league is our bread and butter. This is what we do for a living; the league. The Champions League is an additional trophy that we want but we know that it might be subject to a bit of luck so we’re not obsessed.”
Jamie Carragher offers Liverpool transfer advice on how to catch Manchester City
The Reds fell a point short of catching Pep Guardiola's side for the second time in four years last term. Their dreams of an unprecedented quadruple were smashed in the final week of the season.
Club legend Jamie Carragher believes Jurgen Klopp's first-team is more than a match for their rivals. However, he also believes that City have too much squad depth for any other side in the division.
Speaking to Sky Sports (per The Mirror), Carragher stated:
"In terms of the 11, if you saw Liverpool’s 11, if they were playing Man City’s best team in a Champions League final or an FA Cup final - I’d still fancy Liverpool.
"Over the season, you won’t be getting that first 11, (Trent Alexander-Arnold) missed out against City and you saw the problems James Milner had. It’s not so much that Liverpool don’t have a great squad, they do, they’re just really short in probably two areas. Right back is a massive one as we saw against City, they’ve probably got the best set of centre-backs in the Premier League."