‘Love that’ - Man City players react to training ground artwork celebrating historic fourth title

“I love that,” was the reaction of a grinning Phil Foden as he pointed at Manchester City’s new artwork at the club’s training ground.

Of all players, Foden should. None of Pep Guardiola’s illustrious squad played a bigger role in securing the club’s record 2023/24 Premier League title. The 23-year-old scored 19 goals and provided eight assists as City held off competition from Arsenal and managed to secure top spot.

It means the Blues have won four consecutive top-flight titles, a feat never before achieved in English football. After winning the treble last year, Guardiola admitted after Sunday’s title-clinching win over West Ham United that claiming four in a row has been the team’s guiding light this season.

To ensure that message wasn’t forgotten over a gruelling nine months, City had a motivational piece of artwork installed at the club’s training ground, which the players saw every day. “No team has ever won four consecutive Premier League titles… yet,” it read.

After the team’s triumph at the weekend, the text has been updated, with the word ‘yet’ scribbled out and replaced by ‘until now’. Accompanying that message was a picture of four Premier League trophies along with the years that the team have won the title: 2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2023/24.

City staff had cameras waiting to see the updated message and the reactions didn’t disappoint. “I love it,” said a singing Josko Gvardiol. “Get on that,” shouted John Stones, one of the players to have played in all four seasons, while Rico Lewis and Manuel Akanji also featured in the short video released on social media.

More history beckons this weekend for City if the club can beat Manchester United in the FA Cup final. Should they do so, it will be the first time in history that a side have ever won back-to-back doubles, with City memorably beating United in last season’s Wembley final to lift the trophy.