Champions League win won't change critics' minds about Man City legacy - but it should

Pep Guardiola likes to joke around with reporters when asked about his various tactical experiments over the years: "When I win I'm a genius, when I lose I'm overthinking."

He knows that opinion swings on the result within 90 minutes - and in a similar sense, the opinion pieces and faceless Twitter accounts will be gearing up for whatever happens in Istanbul on Saturday night in the Champions League final. They will be ready to change the headline of their argument depending on the result, although the sentiment will remain the same.

They will say that if Manchester City win they will have only done so because they have spent their way to success. If they lose it's a victory for the clubs who do not spend money. Either way, expect City to take the usual criticism on Saturday night and into next week when in reality nothing will change.

We've been here before. When City secured the Premier League title last month, suddenly everyone remembered the Premier League's 115 charges against them for alleged financial breaches. Nobody had spoken about them since they were levelled at the club in February. All of a sudden, they were relevant again.

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The Champions League final will be another opportunity for critics to use whatever result to fit their long-held beliefs over the way City do business. Even if City win, securing a historic treble and cementing themselves as one of the greatest club sides ever, that won't change the minds of those who think they have only done it because they have spent money.

But it should.

City have dominated the domestic game under Guardiola for years and were starting to do so even before