MONACO -- At the end of every season, Manchester City chairman Khaldoon al-Mubarak delivers his assessment of the campaign that has just concluded and he tends not to hold back, which may not be good news for Pep Guardiola after the club's Champions League last-16 elimination against AS Monaco.
Despite the so-called "Catalanisation" of the club, with former Barcelona figures filling the manager, chief executive and director of football positions at the Etihad Stadium, Al-Mubarak is the man who wields the real power at City, having been hand-picked by owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan to run the club shortly after his takeover in 2008.