Club football is currently catching its breath during the FIFA international break, but the calm won’t last long. When the domestic leagues return in April, we are headed straight into a relentless sprint toward the Champions League final and the crowning of the 2025-26 champions. In England, the first of the “Big Three” trophies has already been claimed, with Manchester City hoisting the Carabao Cup after a clinical 2-0 victory over Arsenal.
That leaves two major prizes on the table. The FA Cup is currently a “shark tank” in the quarter-final stages, with Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City, and Liverpool all still breathing. The draw has set up a massive collision between City and Liverpool, while the final looms on May 16th.
Meanwhile, the Premier League is control by Arsenal. The Gunners currently holds a nine-point lead, though they’ve played one more game than City. However, with City now eliminated from the Champions League and Arsenal still fighting on three fronts, the title race is arguably wider open than the standings suggest.
Guardiola Reaches 40 Trophies: How He Compares to Sir Alex Ferguson’s Record
By taking down Arsenal in the Carabao final, Pep Guardiola officially secured his 40th major trophy as a manager across his legendary stints at Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and Manchester City. This milestone makes him only the second manager in history to reach the 40-trophy mark, trailing only the absolute leader, Sir Alex Ferguson, who sits at 49.
The truly staggering part for football historians isn’t just the number, but the efficiency. Sir Alex built his 49-trophy empire over a career spanning more than 35 years. Guardiola has reached 40 in less than 20. It is a pace that suggests Pep won’t just break the record; he might blow past it before he’s finished.
To round out the elite “Top Five,” Guardiola is followed by Romania’s Mircea Lucescu (35), Italy’s Carlo Ancelotti (30), who is notably set to lead the Brazilian national team in the next World Cup, and the legendary Ukrainian Valery Lobanovskyi (29).
The Path to 42: Can Manchester City Overhaul Arsenal for a Domestic Double?
Guardiola has a legitimate shot at closing the gap to Ferguson even further before the summer, though the road is far from easy. Catching Arsenal in the Premier League is the tallest task on the calendar. Even with a game in hand and a massive head-to-head showdown at the Etihad still to come, City essentially needs the Gunners to stumble in at least one of their final seven matches. It’s a game of “wait and see,” but City’s experience in these late-season grinds is unparalleled.
The FA Cup offers a more direct, albeit brutal, path. They must first survive a heavyweight clash with Liverpool and then navigate a potential final against either Chelsea or Arsenal. While the Champions League exit was a bitter pill to swallow for the blue side of Manchester, it has provided a hidden advantage: energy.
Without the mid-week travel and intensity of European nights, Guardiola can keep his starting XI fresh for the domestic hunt. If he manages to secure the Double, he’ll head into next season just seven trophies away from immortality.
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