MANCHESTER CITY can press ahead with their team-rebuilding plans this summer despite their early Champions League exit.
Pep Guardiola’s men failed to reach the last 16 of the lucrative competition for the first time since 2013 after Kylian Mbappe’s stunning hat-trick for Real Madrid.
That means they miss out on around £9million for reaching the knockout stage proper — along with the chance to go for around £44m more in prize money.
Normally that could have hit their summer budget but City are heading for the money-spinning Club World Cup in June and July.
The 32 teams are set to bank around £41m apiece just for playing in the USA tournament — with the prospect of doubling that for going all the way to the final.
That should help to bridge any shortfall in the City coffers from a rare failure in Uefa’s showpiece competition — which saw them knocked out in the play-off round by Real Madrid on Wednesday.
They have secured Champions League football every year since they first qualified in 2011 — but face a battle to extend that sequence into next season.
Despite spending more than £175m on four signings last month, Guardiola is keen to bring in more new faces this summer.
Germany midfielder Florian Wirtz and Juventus full-back Andrea Cambiaso are targets.
City’s elimination at the hands of Real has raised further doubts over Guardiola’s future with the club.
But when asked if he’ll be at Eastlands next season, the Catalan told Movistar: “Yes, yes, yes, I’m going to stay [at City].
“We have drawn a very strong opponent at the best moment of the season and when the opponent is superior.
“There is no other option than to congratulate them. Ten or 12 years ago we weren’t even in the picture.
“It’s a competition with many details, a very emotional competition, and I have very few complaints about how we’ve behaved in Europe.”
City will be back in action on Sunday, welcoming title-chasing Liverpool to the Etihad.
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