PICTURE OF CITY'S HUGO IS EMERGING

THERE are plenty of City players and insiders who would agree with Txiki Begiristain’s description of the man replacing him as the key decision-maker at the Etihad.

- By TYRONE MARSHALL

In a new City+ film celebrating the end of Begiristain's 13-year tenure as the club's director of football, the conversation soon turns to the man replacing him, the 42-year-old Hugo Viana.

Former Barcelona executive Begiristain laid the groundwork for much of City’s success in the last decade, but his decision to stand down made change inevitable this summer and Viana was the man tasked with enacting it.

The handover came at an interesting time, with Viana taking the controls at a time when the relentless winning machine built by Begiristain and Pep Guardiola was starting to cough and splutter.