There is a tendency in European football for turning your nose up at the Club World Cup, but Pep Guardiola has always respected the competition. The Catalan ranks Barcelona's triumph over Estudiantes in the 2009 final as one of the best moments of his career, and burst into tears when Lionel Messi clinched their 2-1 victory in extra-time after Pedro had snatched an 89th-minute equaliser.
It meant Barca had become the only team ever to win all six trophies they had entered in one year, and Guardiola hailed the achievement as "unthinkable". Guardiola and Barca also took the competition seriously in 2011, beating Neymar's Santos 4-0.
Manchester City cannot match Barca's clean sweep in this year's Club World Cup as they were beaten in the Community Shield by Arsenal, but they can still round off an incredible 2023 with a fifth trophy. And Guardiola was being sincere when, even after City's chastening 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace, he said he was looking forward to heading to Saudi Arabia to play for the right to be crowned champions of the world.
"We love to go to play the Club World Cup," he said. "To go there you have to win the Champions League. I'm very pleased and excited to go there to try and win it. Of course, it's nice. Years ago we could not imagine to be there and we are there."
Despite Guardiola's words, whether flights halfway across the world and two games in 30-plus degree temperatures is quite what a City team that has won just one of their last six Premier League games needs heading into the busy Christmas period is up for debate. But if you think this version of the tournament is inconvenient, then FIFA's plans for the future are something to behold.