The Chilean cited Italian champions Juventus – who reached the Champions League final on Wednesday – as an example of a successful side full of experienced professionals.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference before City’s trip to Swansea on Sunday, Pellegrini said: “Maybe we are not so old.
“Juventus have five players more than 30 years old but the experience is also very important to win titles.
“I am very glad for Juventus because they deserve to be in the final but that is not any relation to what I think about our squad.”
The manager doesn’t see the age of City’s current team - the oldest in the Premier League - as a reason for the trophyless season, insisting: “Maybe we need some young players but we didn’t lose the title this year because we are an old squad.”
Manuel also doesn’t consider tiredness, after a 12-month period which included the World Cup and a pre-season trip to the USA, as an excuse.
He asserted: “All the teams do it - maybe you want to have a pre-season near England so you can avoid the travel of 10 or 15 hours but big teams have to make their pre-season in another country.
“You need a lot of motivation so maybe after a World Cup, the mind is not ready to have another challenge in the Premier League but I don’t think that was a problem this year.”
Looking ahead to the summer, the boss is hopeful of major additions to the squad as he targets world stars or ‘cracks’ as he calls them.
He told press: “It’s good for every important team to buy important players or cracks every year if they can.
“You have to change players or bring players in. It’s good for all big teams - not just our team.”
