Ruben Dias, Rico Lewis react to Mateo Kovacic’s post amid Man City exit rumours
Mateo Kovacic took to social media as celebrations continued after Man City beat Nottingham Forest to the FA Cup final.
Pep Guardiola has admitted that the 2024/25 campaign has been far from good enough from his players, with City still fighting for Champions League qualification and being knocked out of other competitions.
Some supporters have grown frustrated with Guardiola this season, but with multiple big-name stars linked with exits, many are now expecting a lot of change during the summer transfer window.
Mick Brown told Football Insider that Kovacic is among six first-team Man City players set to leave at the end of the season, but there is still work left to do before any business is done.
An FA Cup final awaits, with four final matches of the Premier League season still left to play.
Mateo Kovacic keeps head in the game after Nottingham Forest win
Taking to Instagram (29 April), Kovacic wrote: “One more step,” after grabbing an assist at Wembley Stadium, helping set up a final clash against Crystal Palace.
Nathan Ake, Matheus Nunes, Nico O’Reilly and Ruben Dias all liked the post, with Rico Lewis commenting: “The best,” with a praise emoji.
Pep Guardiola needs Champions League qualification to keep Man City fans happy
Football Insider verdict
It could be an incredibly tough summer transfer window for the Citizens if there is no Champions League football to attract more big-name players to the Etihad Stadium ahead of the 2025/26 campaign.
Kevin De Bruyne has already confirmed his Man City exit, and with John Stones, Ederson, Bernardo Silva, and Jack Grealish also tipped for exits, this would signify a changing of the guard.
| Premier League standings | Points |
| 3. Newcastle United | 62 |
| 4. Man City | 61 |
| 5. Chelsea | 60 |
| 6. Nottingham Forest | 60 |
| 7. Aston Villa | 57 |
While Omar Marmoush, Nico Gonzalez and Abdukodir Khusanov have already made important impacts on the current squad, considering the performances this season, more signings will be needed.
Lucas Paqueta is still being linked with Man City, and so too is Tottenham’s Pedro Porro, and fans will be expecting multiple big moves once the summer transfer window opens. Guardiola might do too.
As previously stated, though, bringing new talent to Manchester is made exponentially harder without a selling point, and City playing in the Europa League next season is not that.