After a record-breaking decade under Pep Guardiola’s management - that added an incredible 20 major trophies to the already glittering list of trophy wins under Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini - the challenge now is to build on and extend City’s remarkable period of sustained success.
And in a wide-ranging interview during his annual end-of-season reflection, the Chairman said he was confident City’s success would continue and the guiding principles that underpin the Club would remain exactly the same.
PRE-ORDER our ‘10 YEARS WITH PEP’ book
Furthermore, he said that the drive and desire to be successful and to win silverware was now firmly embedded and ingrained into every facet of the Club from the very top echelons down.
“We are far from peaked,” Al Mubarak said. “This is a Club that is designed [and] built to win.
“We are used to [being successful], because it’s in our DNA, winning.
“I look at where the Club was in 2008, and then I look at every part of these last 18 years.
“Roberto Mancini brought that first Premier League title to this Club, we will never forget those moments. It was a great period then, [after] a first FA Cup win in many, many years.
“Then Manuel [Pellegrini] came in, [the] same thing, another Premier League title and more success.
“And then Pep came in, and it was getting that mindset, that DNA of a winning club. And now, this Club is the way we all know it right now.
“What Pep has given us has taken us to the next level, and I think we’re so thankful for what he’s helped build here.
“Winning is hard, it’s not easy, it’s a lot of hard work, and it’s a lot of hard work by a collective.
“Look over these 18 years how many different generations of teams that we have been collectively putting together, each one special.
“From that first group of the [Sergio] Agueros and the Yaya Toures and the [David] Silvas, to the next group of the Kevin De Bruynes and the Ilkay Gundogans and the Bernardos [Silva] to this group of the Erling Haalands and the [Rayan] Cherkis and the [Phil] Fodens and the [Abdukodir] Khusanovs.
“We continue and, in every aspect, it’s different because it’s different players but the success will come because I think we do a very good job in maintaining a winning mindset.
“Hence, when you look at our records in English football over these last 18 years, Manchester City is the most successful Club in this country.
“I think top down, [from] Sheikh Mansour, myself, Ferran [Soriano] and then the whole organisation, we have a team. And that team is a winning team.
“And that team will continue, and there will be players, there will be coaches, there will be executives, that’s part of life, but we will keep going and we will continue to deliver.”
Watch video for free with a Cityzens account
The Chairman also revealed the Blues are close to appointing a successor to Guardiola, who stepped down from his position as manager at the end of the 2025/26 season after an incredible 10 years at the helm.
“I think what I can say at the moment is we’ve gone through a very thoughtful and structured process and the team is convinced – and I am convinced, rest assured – that we will bring in the right manager for this Club,” Al Mubarak said.
“Just be patient with us. Very soon we’ll announce it and you will be very comfortable that we have selected and brought in the best manager possible for this Club.”
Meanwhile, the Chairman believes striker Erling Haaland is a future Ballon d’Or winner.
The Norwegian, who will spearhead Norway’s attack at this summer’s World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada, joined the Blues in the summer of 2022 and has won two Premier League titles, one Champions League, two FA Cups, one League Cup, one Super Cup and one Community Shield so far.
He has also collected three Premier League Golden Boot awards and is widely considered the finest No.9 in world football, with his performances rewarded with a ten-year contract signed in January 2025.
And Al Mubarak believes Haaland is a born leader who deserves the highest recognition in the game.
“I mean, to be fair with Erling, he was always a leader from the first day he stepped into this Club,” he said.
“He comes in with such character and charisma and of course, when you are a superstar, when you are a goal scoring machine like he is, inevitably you’re a leader and he’s got that personality.
“Lucky for him, that when he came in, he came in under a group with a lot of leaders. From Ilkay [Gundogan], to Bernardo [Silva], to Rodri, to Ruben [Dias]. So many great leaders that we had that he was with.
“So, he got to experience also playing with incredible characters and high IQ football players.
“And now you can see it this year, last year particularly by the way, last season and this past season, he’s really stepping up into an important role. I consider him the best striker in the world.
“I consider him a Ballon d’Or winner hopefully soon. And I consider him someone that has the mindset, that winning mindset, that is the essence of this team and this Club. This young man is a winner.”
