Manchester City is determined by an edition of £ 100 million that for the World Cup Club, are determined to erase the memory of a disappointing season by returning to winning ways in the United States.
For the first time in eight years, City ended the domestic campaign without a large trophy when the men of Pep Guardiola surrendered the Premier League crown to Liverpool after an unprecedented four consecutive titles.
A Champions League exit for the last 16 for the first time since 2012/13 and a shock FA Cup Final Nederay against Crystal Palace has exacerbated a miserable season for a club that is used to success since a take-over takeover 17 years ago.
The extensive club of the World Cup of the month, once sandwiched between two debilitating seasons, was the last thing Guardiola or his players wanted to.
Ballon d'Or winner Rodri hinted in September that the strike of a players was “close” about congestion of the fixture.
Defender Manuel Akanji more recently said that the city team was “not exactly overjoyed” in playing in the tournament given the limited rest time.
However, City would like to turn the page of last season and start again with major changes in the team and coaching staff.
Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Cherki, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Marcus Bettinelli were all signed last week to beat the deadline to appear in the World Cup club from the start.
City also spent more than £ 172 million in January on Omar Marmoush, Abdukodir Khusanov, Vorror Reis and Nico Gonzalez.
Adding Claudio Echeverri, who arrived in Manchester in January at the end of a loan spell on River Plate, are nine of Guardiola's 27-man team for the tournament less than six months in the city.
Former city captain Kyle Walker and Club Record Signing Jack Grealisk have been omitted from the traveling party in a change in the guard.
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'The whole world will look'
In the meantime, Guardiola has also made radical changes to his staff with Pep Libnders, the former assistant of Jurgen Klopp in Liverpool and ex-staddentiger Kolo Toure who becomes a member of the back room team and three other coaches leave.
“This is a very, very serious competition,” said Guardiola. “The whole world will view this in the summer.
“A large number of the top teams in the world will participate in this tournament and I can assure you, we will give it our best chance. We are going there to win it.”
The city starts the tournament as third favorites in the opportunities of the British bookmakers behind the newly crowned European champions Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid.
They have to illuminate a group with Wydad Casablanca, Al Ain from Abu Dhabi and Italian giants Juventus.
Yet there is an atmosphere of mystery about what to expect from the city, given the fresh faces and their inconsistency in the past season.
After a miserable Midden-Winterrun of one win in 13 games in all competitions, the side of Guardiola recovered to a certain extent when they finished third in the Premier League.
The additions of Reijnders and Cherki add a much needed verve to an aging midfield and compensate for the departure of Kevin De Bruyne to Napoli.
The arrival of Ait-Nouri ends a long spell without a natural left back and will add an extra attacking dimension to that side.
The most crucial, however, is that Rodri is back from the cruciate knee ligament injury that decimated the season of him and the city.
When the Spanish midfielder went against Arsenal at the end of September, City was still unbeaten and the top of the Premier League.
His interest as the most important gear in the Guardiola machine was brutally exposed in the following months.
The 28-year-old returned in the last week of the Premier League season.
Restored with Rodri and renewed Guardiolas Squadron, City could be a force to take into account in the coming month.