From gold to old – Man City’s empire has crumbled and the future is uncertain | OneFootball

They were the last of them on the pitch, the last men standing. Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan, two-thirds of a Champions League-winning midfield two years ago, were saluting the Manchester City fans up among the gods at the top of the Bernabeu Stadium. Waving goodbye, perhaps.

To the Champions League? It felt that way, though De Bruyne might like another contract and Gundogan has played so much he is close to triggering a one-year extension to his deal. The German is arguably City’s most successful ever captain, the lone one to lift this trophy, the Belgian probably their greatest ever player, at least until Erling Haaland takes that mantle under the weight of goals he produces.

Now they are in their mid-thirties. Gundogan looked his age as Rodrygo gave him the runaround on Wednesday. Pep Guardiola showed a lack of sentimentality by not bringing on De Bruyne for the final few minutes, with the game gone. He showed a different kind of cruelty by making Gundogan play 76 minutes. Real Madrid won 3-1. It could have been 6-1.

Afterwards, Guardiola’s choice of tense was instructive. “We have been a great team,” he said, couching his comments in the past. That team won a treble but not a second Champions League; no English side, not with the same core has won two since Liverpool in the 1980s.

Whether or not City come again – and it is a sign of how their fortunes have plummeted that Guardiola’s new target is simply qualifying for next season’s Champions League – their modern-day legends have been beset by age. Only one letter separates gold from old. “If you’re not good enough in the moment football takes over and it is what it is,” said Ruben Dias. The game can be no respecter of reputation.

Kyle Walker was not in the Bernabeu. Gundogan’s successor as captain had lost his pace, jumped ship to AC Milan and exited the Champions League to Feyenoord a day earlier. John Stones, the revelation of the run-in in the treble season, only lasted eight minutes in Madrid. Outstanding against Real last season, he came off worse in a challenge with Kylian Mbappe. It was a microcosm of City’s night.

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John Stones lasted eight minutes before being subbed off injured against Real Madrid (EPA)

Stones and Nathan Ake, who played the Englishman’s replacement in his first game as a thirtysomething, feature on more medical bulletins than teamsheets these days. For Guardiola, who delayed change too long, thinking his stalwarts had more in the tank, further decisions beckon.

“Things are not eternal, there are players who have an age,” he reflected. A rebuilding job began, belatedly but expensively, in January. “A little bit, yes, we have started to do it,” said Guardiola. At a cost of over £170m, it was more than a little bit. Two newcomers, Omar Marmoush and Nico Gonzalez, combined for a consolation goal but received a lesson. Real, Guardiola said, are “the benchmark”.

A third arrival, Abdukodir Khusanov, played right-back; he is the fourth player to do so in as many Champions League games since Walker decided he wanted to go. The common denominator is that none is actually a right-back: Matheus Nunes had struggled against Bradley Barcola, Rico Lewis against Vinicius Junior. Manuel Akanji had got injured. A right-back might top that summer shopping list.

That’s because Real Madrid did not suddenly expose City’s deficiencies; they have long been apparent. Madrid exploited them, but so have many a lesser force. However, Real showed the standard. Amid injuries, City have lacked consistency in selection and chemistry. They have lost reliability, as the host of individual errors illustrates. They need more physicality, something Guardiola started to address in his January buying.

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Real Madrid and hat-trick hero Kylian Mbappe (centre) exposed Man City’s many frailties (PA)

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City were left to ponder a damaging night in Madrid (Action Images via Reuters)

They have got dramatically worse in so many respects. When they won the Champions League in 2023, they went unbeaten, conceding only three goals in seven knockout games. They have played two this season, conceding three in each. They have let in 19 goals in their last seven outings in this competition.

Last season, they lost a penalty shootout in Europe, but not a match. This year, fresh from setting the competition’s longest unbeaten run, they have been beaten five times. Previously intrepid travellers, they have lost in Portugal, Italy, France and Spain in four successive trips.

They have lost a lead in four matches. They have beaten only Slovan Bratislava, Sparta Prague and Club Brugge, all expected to be minnows. It is the first time since 2012-13 that City have not defeated a side from at least one of Germany, Spain and Italy. They eliminated all three in the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final in 2023.

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Pep Guardiola watched his side fail to deliver, which isn’t all that rare these days (PA)

This time the group stage became an ordeal. City infused Uefa’s new format with drama because of their own ineptitude. “When you finish 22nd it’s because you haven't been good,” said Guardiola. “It’s the year we’ve been the worst.” Pound for pound, they have been the competition’s worst team, its greatest underachievers.

Guardiola has not sought to make excuses or to pretend City have been unfortunate. They haven’t. In various parts of Europe, few tears may be shed for the club that advised Vinicius and Real to stop crying their heart out. That ill-advised piece of gloating actually marked the end of an era.

If City are back in the Champions League, the returning Rodri will be the lone member of the all-conquering midfield trio, the foil to De Bruyne and Gundogan, charged with powering a new side. This City, as Guardiola said, have been a great team. Until, suddenly, they weren’t even a good one.