Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE? WE’RE NOT MAD FOR IT
City chief Soriano claims: Europe is not an obsession... we will win it at the right time. Anyway, you need to be lucky to lift it: Real Madrid were
MANCHESTER CITY chief executive Ferran Soriano has denied the Premier League champions are “obsessed” about winning the Champions League.
City have conquered England’s top flight in four of the last five seasons, but have continually come up short in Europe. Two semi-final exits and defeat in the 2021 final to Chelsea represent their best run in the Champions League.
It is accepted that Blues boss Pep Guardiola, who won the trophy twice as a coach with Barcelona, was brought in to help the club rule European football.
But Soriano, who branded Real Madrid “lucky” for winning the top prize in May, dismissed the notion of the Etihad chiefs being obsessed with becoming champions of Europe.
He said City placed more importance on winning the domestic league title, which was a real test over 38 games, while the Champion League winners were not always the best team in Europe
“We are patient, it’s not an obsession, we will win it at the right time,” said Soriano.
“It is a trophy that we want, but we know that it’s subject to a bit of luck and we’re not obsessed. Whoever wins the league title 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 closest Guardiola has come to the Champions League trophy with City was in Porto (above), when his side were denied by Kai Havertz’s goal for Chelsea in the final.
And Soriano reckons City were better than this year’s winners, Madrid. He added: “People talk today about the success that Madrid have had in recent years, and I think it would be fair to say that they were a bit lucky.
“I could say that they deserved to lose against Paris Saint-germain, against Chelsea, against us or against
Liverpool.” Soriano backed up his claim by suggesting Real had far better sides in the past, but were unable to lift Europe’s elite trophy.
“People don’t remember that in the 80s and 90s, Real had a fantastic team, one of the best in history, and they could not win it,” he said.
“Milan eliminated them every year, so they were somewhat lucky now, but they were also very unlucky for years.”