Pep Guardiola holds the key to Man City’s shaky future: Richard Buxton
They need him more than ever in the event that Uefa's 2-year ban is upheld
Everything rests on Pep Guardiola in the fate of Manchester City's precarious house of cards.
After paving the way for his arrival with a structural upheaval which changed the very face of life at the Etihad Stadium, the club's fortunes are inextricably linked with their Spanish manager.
Two of his former Barcelona allies now occupy key positions at boardroom level, in Txiki Begiristain and Ferran Sorriano, while the footprint of the English Premier League champions' home was modelled to bear striking similarities with the set-up that the Catalan experienced at his hometown club.
City reinvented themselves solely for Guardiola's benefit. In turn, he shaped them into a dominant force of elite-level football; smashing records and opponents along the way.
But, as quickly as the two-time Champions League-winning coach has built them up during the previous four seasons, he can also be the one to bring it all crashing down around them.
Joan Laporta is already outlining plans for a reunion with his one-time cohort at the Nou Camp if he is successfully re-elected Barcelona president at next summer's elections.
Stated intentions of seeing out his contract at City until at least its 2021 expiry align perfectly with that bold vision.
New challenges appeal far more to Guardiola than revisiting home comforts, which render a return to the club where both his playing and coaching careers took flight incredibly slim.
Any hopes of City breathing a sigh of relief, however, are mitigated by the outcome of their appeal against a two-year ban from the Champions League for Financial Fair Play breaches.
The aftershocks of Uefa's landmark sanction in February are now starting to be felt in east Manchester, with Kevin de Bruyne admitting earlier this month that any decisions over his long-term future will only be taken once the Court of Arbitration for Sport makes its final ruling.
A reduction of City's absence from Europe's premier club competition to one season would be just about tolerable for the Belgian talisman, but the full punishment may prove a step too far.
Readjusting to the Champions League as a 31-year-old would limit de Bruyne's ability to set the tournament's stage ablaze, as he has so often done in a sky-blue shirt.
In that situation, few outside the Etihad's corridors of power would begrudge him for not wanting to tough it out.
Guardiola's managerial Midas touch and City's own powers of persuasion, similarly, will suffer from a short-term spell away from the continental spotlight.
They are already starting to appear vulnerable, as Bayern Munich ramp up their offensive in renewed efforts to sign Leroy Sane.
Rather than strong-arming the reigning Bundesliga champions into meeting their £105 million (S$183.5m) valuation, the Citizens are willing to allow the injured winger to run down the final 12 months of his current deal and run the risk of him leaving for free in the following summer.
Such acts of self-inflicted spite became synonymous during Peter Swales' infamous 20-year premiership, yet reflects a shift in the usually sharp-minded strategy of their Abu Dhabi owners, who are under no illusions that City are in no position to even try calling the shots.
If their worst fears are confirmed with the full length of the Champions League ban being upheld, Guardiola's presence will become invaluable in helping stave off a mass exodus.
Convincing the eternal perfectionist to steer them through an imperfect situation may be City's hardest task since first trying to lure Guardiola to the blue half of Manchester.
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