In 134 years of English football, no team has ever won four league titles in a row. Huddersfield Town, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United (twice) have all attempted the feat, but ultimately fallen short. Now, it is Manchester City's turn to try and boldly go where no team has gone before.
If any manager was to go and do it, then it would be Pep Guardiola, who led his side to the treble just two months ago and has a habit of setting new precedents. The Catalan became only the second coach to lead Barcelona to three consecutive La Liga crowns and no-one has done it since, for any club. He was the first Bayern Munich coach in 29 years to lift three Bundesliga titles in a row. He was the first coach to win the treble in Spanish football and only the second to do so in English football.
But while Guardiola has an insatiable lust for winning, getting his players to remain as hungry after lifting every trophy imaginable is another matter. Sir Alex Ferguson and Vicente del Bosque are just two managers who have warned how hard it is to get a winning team to keep on winning. And while City have lost two crucial members of this golden era after parting with captain Ilkay Gundogan and the ever-reliable Riyad Mahrez, their rivals have strengthened.
Arsenal, their closest rivals last season, have spent over £200 million ($254m) to boost their title hopes and Manchester United have been on a programme of targeted recruitment over the summer, splashing out around £165m ($210m) to get a new striker, midfielder and goalkeeper. Chelsea have a new manager and have continued to regenerate their squad, while Liverpool have also got their wallet out after underwhelming in 2022-23.
Even though Guardiola had craved the Champions League for 12 years, he has described the Premier League title as "the most important" competition of all. Winning it for a fourth year in a row might be his biggest challenge yet, but it will be one he will relish pulling off.