The year is 2012. Manchester City have just failed to sign Pep Guardiola, the most sought-after manager in world football. All City can do is watch as he joins Bayern Munich and wins consecutive league titles.The year is 2016. Guardiola is finally courted by City. But his first season at the Etihad will also be his first ever without a trophy. He will be mockingly nicknamed 'Fraudiola', and after drawing the first home game of the new 2017-18 season, he will lock himself in the dressing room, inconsolable. The year is 2018. Manchester City followed that fateful draw with eighteen wins in a row. They will win the Premier League with a record, rampant 100 points - a now legendary 'Centurion' season. The year is 2023. Manchester City have just sealed an historic Treble by winning the Champions League in Istanbul. Pep and Kevin De Bruyne celebrate together on the pitch. The world's most ambitious sporting project has come full circle. History has been made.Throughout this project, Simon Bajkowski, has been alongside the team in his role as the Manchester Evening News's chief MUFC correspondent. He has compiled the definitive book on the team, complete with unrivalled insight and new interviews.This book is a study in high-performance sporting excellence and elite management. But more than that, it is a true insider's guide: to how Manchester City won an unprecedented and historic Treble in 2023, and how a near-perfect footballing machine was built from the ground up. Prepare for The Blueprint: a white-knuckle ride through a sporting dynasty the likes of which the game has never seen before.

Simon Bajkowski joined the Sports Desk of the Manchester Evening News in 2013; in 2016, with the arrival of Pep Guardiola, he was assigned to all games - home and away - for Manchester City. In 2022, he was asked to become the Chief Manchester City writer - neatly coinciding with the clubs most successful season in football history. Simon has been alongside Pep Guardiola since his joining Manchester City. He has journeyed with the club almost as an insider, and as very much part of their modern, superclub iteration.