Mateo Kovacic on Manchester City's Title Drought and Pressure

Mateo Kovacic knows exactly where Manchester City stand. No title in two seasons. No Pep Guardiola on the horizon. And no guarantees he will even be there when the next era begins.

The Croatian midfielder, speaking to the South China Morning Post, did not try to dress it up. City, once relentless champions with four Premier League crowns in a row, now find themselves chasing again after Liverpool and Arsenal have taken turns at the summit over the past two campaigns.

“I think the pressure is on everybody … on us especially, because we haven’t won it two years in a row,” Kovacic said, cutting straight to the point.

That is the reality at the Etihad. The aura of inevitability has slipped. The target on their backs has not.

City’s old dominance, new doubts

For four seasons, City turned the title race into a habit. Now, the landscape looks different. Liverpool have retooled, Arsenal have hardened into genuine contenders, and City’s margin for error has shrunk.

The looming departure of Guardiola, and the uncertainty that follows, only sharpens the edge. Kovacic admitted he could not even be sure he would be part of the first post-Guardiola campaign, a reminder that eras end not just for managers, but for squads as well.

Yet the expectation remains exactly the same: win.

“Big clubs are about winning, so you always feel the same pressure,” he said. The line could have come from any dressing room at the top level, but from a City player right now it carries a particular weight.

Chelsea spending big, Arsenal pushing hard

Kovacic has a clear view of the wider picture. He spent five years at Chelsea before joining City in 2023, and he has watched his former club throw money at the problem of mediocrity this summer in an attempt to crash the title conversation again.

“Clubs are spending a lot. Chelsea’s one of them, and I think they added some great players,” he noted.

Chelsea are not alone. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has already made it clear that the club is “very active [in our player search] trying to improve and evolve”. The London clubs are arming themselves for a season in which City’s vulnerability, perceived or real, offers a rare opening.

Everyone can sense it. City are still the benchmark, but no longer untouchable.

The pressure Kovacic talks about is not abstract. It is the pressure of a league that has smelled weakness and is spending heavily to exploit it.