It’s been a truly remarkable 2022/23 campaign, in which City retained the Premier League title for a fifth time in six seasons, clinched the FA Cup at Wembley and were named European Champions for the first time in our history.
Our Elite Development Squad – led by Barry-Murphy – also enjoyed a hugely successful campaign by retaining the Premier League 2 title for a third consecutive season, and second under the Irishman.
Both players and EDS staff joined Pep Guardiola’s men during our memorable trophy parade through Manchester, and Barry-Murphy expressed his personal delight at the Club’s success across the board during those celebrations.
Our EDS manager also declared that our success at senior level was just rewards for the incredible efforts that he’s witnessed first-hand across the campaign.
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He said: “Obviously, I spent my whole playing career in the lower leagues, so to see what a team of this calibre has done is amazing.
“It just reiterates the dedication and hard work they put into it and to see them get the reward is very beneficial.
“I’m delighted for the manager as well most of all because he really deserves this one.”
Barry-Murphy also discussed the potential impact of Academy graduates Phil Foden, Cole Palmer and Rico Lewis on his current crop of talent, with the trio among the City squad for our historic Champions League final victory over Inter Milan.
Lewis progressed to the first team this season having captained our Under-18s to the title in 2021/22, while Palmer has enjoyed regular senior action since making his debut in 2020.
Foden, meanwhile, has become a key figure for City and England during the past five years, featuring over 200 times so far while also playing an important role in that triumph in Istanbul.
And Barry-Murphy believes that, alongside the exposure gained from training with Pep Guardiola’s men, witnessing some of our former Academy stars blossom into established first team players acts as a major source of motivation for his youngsters.
“They have such close contact with the first team in terms of training with them so often,” he explained.
“Being with Pep Guardiola every day is an amazing experience for them.
“Seeing Cole Palmer, Rico Lewis and Phil (Foden) especially on the pitch and having such a big impact is a real inspiration.
“We retained the Premier League 2 title in pretty emphatic fashion in the end. We produced a very high level of performance all season long.
“The players are deserving of this moment and celebratory mood and they’re doing that in a very good manner.”
