Guardiola appointment the final piece in Manchester City's puzzle

Pep Guardiola is arguably the only manager in world football whose appointment at any club or country would be deemed an upgrade.

His achievements over seven-and-a-half years of management leave his trophy-laden contemporaries in the shade. In that time, he has bagged three more major honours than his new club, Manchester City, has in its 122-year history.

Manuel Pellegrini's three-year spell at the helm helped turn City into a team with a distinct playing style, while work behind the scenes ensured that the club developed into an outfit befitting a manager of Guardiola's standing. It seems that since the 2012 appointments of director of football Txiki Begiristain and chief executive Ferran Soriano - who previously held the same roles above Guardiola at Barcelona - this is an appointment City has been building and striving for.

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Guardiola joins a team that has invested in young talent lately. Kevin De Bruyne, 24, and Raheem Sterling, 21, were expensively purchased last summer and are complemented by the likes of Kelechi Iheanacho, who has rapidly progressed into first-team reckoning since his work permit cleared in February 2015. The 19-year-old Nigerian is expected to be the first of a legion of youthful talents putting pressure on the senior squad's old guard.

The ageing ranks mean there could be wholesale changes at the Etihad Stadium before the start of the 2016-17 campaign. Should reports be believed, Guardiola is set to be handed £150 million to spend next summer, but a much greater outlay could be splurged given the aged recruits that may be shown the door.

Players such as Yaya Toure, Jesus Navas, Martin Demichelis, Aleksandar Kolarov, and Gael Clichy are all aged 30 or over and could be sold in favour of younger talent. Guardiola will also be conscious that the likes of Pablo Zabaleta, Bacary Sagna, Vincent Kompany, Samir Nasri, Fernando, Fernandinho, and David Silva are all ripening through age or injury, and don't provide a long-term option for the new gaffer.

Guardiola has no qualms letting go of players he doesn't see in his vision for the club, regardless of their popularity. At Barcelona, he controversially sold Gianluca Zambrotta, Ronaldinho, Deco, and Samuel Eto'o. Luiz Gustavo, Mario Gomez, and a young Emre Can were given the same treatment upon Guardiola's Bayern Munich appointment in 2013.

Regardless of what Guardiola does in the transfer market, this is a huge statement from Manchester City. There has never been a project as ambitious and significant in the history of football, and that's because it goes far beyond on-pitch exploits.

Through the ownership of Sheikh Mansour's Abu Dhabi United Group, a whole area of east Manchester has been regenerated with improved transport lines and the plush Etihad Campus, which in turn has created many jobs for locals during a difficult economic time. The work of City in the Community, and the award-winning charity of the club, has extended its outreach through the riches of its hierarchy.

The 2008 takeover hasn't just been an exercise in splashing cash to create a successful club - a criticism that could be levelled at the likes of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich. Sheikh Mansour, through the chairmanship of Khaldoon Al Mubarak, has overseen a community project that will last. Those at the top of the Manchester City hierarchy have attempted to build something with a comprehensive and lasting structure like Barcelona, but in just eight years.

Guardiola buying into this ambitious project is a compliment to its success so far, and is the final piece in Manchester City becoming one of European football's enduring elite.