Rio Ferdinand doubts Man City will be about to repeat their Treble heroics after Kevin De Bruyne’s injury and the sales of Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez Rio Ferdinand believes Manchester City will find it hard to retain the treble Kevin De Bruyne is out injured while Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez have left WATCH: ' It's All Kicking Off' - Episode 1 - Mail Sport's brand new football show By Jeorge Bird For Mailonline Published: 20:57, 16 August 2023 | Updated: 21:36, 16 August 2023 e-mail 18 shares 4 View comments Rio Ferdinand believes that it will be 'a huge ask' for Manchester City to retain the treble. City achieved the incredible feat of winning the Premier League, the Champions League and the FA Cup last season, becoming just the second English side to do so following Manchester United 's success in 1999. However, there are problems for City in the early stages of the new campaign. Ilkay Gundogan , who captained City to their treble triumph, has joined Barcelona , while Riyad Mahrez has signed for Al-Ahli. To add to the difficulties facing Pep Guardiola, midfielder Kevin de Bruyne has been ruled out until for three to four months due to a hamstring issue. Ferdinand feels that the absences of Gundogan, Mahrez and De Bruyne will prove problematic for City. Kevin De Bruyne's injury will make it hard for Man City to retain the treble, says Rio Ferdinand Ferdinand believes that City are now a weaker side in comparison to last season City manager Pep Guardiola faces a significant challenge in attempting to win the treble again Your browser does not support iframes. Ferdinand said: 'No English team has done that. It will be a huge ask. One of the big factors is maintaining the consistency without De Bruyne for four months, without Gundogan and Mahrez. It's going to be difficult. It's going to be a tall order. I don't think he's saying anything that's too wild.' Ferdinand enjoyed much success at Manchester United, with Sir Alex Ferguson constantly demanding for his players to perform consistently. Guardiola now faces a similar challenge in terms of continuing to get the best out of his players. Ferdinand said: 'Ferguson used to hone in on individuals but also it was you're playing for Man United, you have to be in tip top condition week in week out. It is difficult. These players have proven they can get to the top of Mount Rushmore, now it's about sustaining that.' Ferdinand also claimed that City are weaker than last season and stated that the likes of Jack Grealish and Cole Palmer will need to step up. He said: 'I would argue that this City team is weaker now than it was last season. When you lose the goals and assists of Mahrez, Gundogan and De Bruyne, those three players, and what have they brought in to replace those goals? [Cole] Palmer will have to chip in with a lot of goals to mask that, [Jack] Grealish will have to step up.' Former City defender Joleon Lescott highlighted the significant contribution that Gundogan, Mahrez and De Bruyne made for City last season. Lescott said: 'You have to be lucky and unfortunately they've got injuries to key players. De Bruyne, Gundogan and Mahrez contributed 80 goals.' Ilkay Gundogan (L) has joined Barcelona while Riyad Mahrez (R) has signed for Al-Ahli Ferdinand also indicated that there will be pressure on Erling Haaland to repeat his remarkable feat of 52 goals in all competitions last season. Ferdinand said: 'Haaland's got to repeat what he did last season again. Is he going to get to 50-odd again? He's got to do that and probably more.' Share or comment on this article: Rio Ferdinand doubts Man City will be able to repeat their Treble heroics after Kevin De Bruyne's injury and the sales of Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez e-mail 18 shares Add comment Comments 4 Share what you think Newest Oldest Best rated Worst rated View all The comments below have not been moderated. View all The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. Add your comment Enter your comment By posting your comment you agree to our house rules . Submit Comment Clear Close Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. No Yes Close Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy .