A defining moment of Manchester City's evolution came at the start of February in 2016, when Pep Guardiola signed a three-year deal that would begin at the start of the 2016-17 season.
On February 1, a day that is usually reserved for reaction to the end of the mid-season transfer window, Manuel Pellegrini dropped a bombshell by revealing his three-year spell at the club would come to an end at the end of the season.
"Before I finish, I want to tell you I have talked with the club and I will finish my contract on the original date," the Chilean boss said at the end of a routine press conference.
"I signed for one year more, but with the clause that the club or me can choose not to use that, so I finish here on the original date, June 30, so there is not the speculation."
"The club are not doing anything behind me, I knew this one month ago, but I don't think it's good to have rumour or speculation about these things, so I prefer to finish today, which I why I have told the players and I have told the press. I also spoke to the club two weeks ago and said that I would do it."
Pellegrini went on to guide City to League Cup glory that season but the game was up, he knew what was coming with Guardiola's appointment - but even the most optimistic of supporters would not have foreseen the incredible growth during the past three seasons at the Etihad Stadium.
Numerous titles have followed in the years since, with City establishing themselves as the dominant force in English football and as one of Europe's heavyweights.
A manager of Guardiola's calibre was certainly a significant coup as the Catalan boss could have had his picked of destinations. As the MEN reported in July 2016 though, it was the influence of Txiki Begiristain and Ferran Soriano, a pair he worked with at Barcelona, which proved to be decisive.
“I have known Txiki and Ferran for a long time. I played with Txiki and Ferran was on the board during my first period at Barcelona," he said.
What followed was a declaration to the supporters of an intention to play well, which in turn would bring titles and success, and give the fans a style of play to be proud of.
"The challenge is to play as well as possible. Titles and success will be a consequence of the way we are going to play. I want to convince these guys to play as well as possible and to have Manchester City fans and fans across the world be proud of the way we play."
Proud is an understatement. With the previous decade orientated around the styles of Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, Arsene Wenger at Arsenal and Jose Mourinho at Chelsea, Guardiola is undoubtedly the catalyst to a change in approach for a number of clubs during the past few years.
Guardiola's playing style, accompanied by vast success, has brought a magnifying glass onto how teams play. Now, results themselves are not the be and end all, the football must also be enjoyable - just ask Mourinho from his time with United.
“[Other managers] have told me how hard the Premier League is, how tough it is,” he said. “People say that Pep is not going to adapt in that way so that is why I'm here, to try to do it.
"Some people are confident that it will go well and some say that the way I play will not be possible in the Premier League. I said to myself 'why not? Why not travel there and try it.' It's a big challenge."
A challenge it may have been but at times under Guardiola, City have made it look easy. Over 100 points in the Premier League, domestic trebles - City have done it all.
How long Guardiola stays into the next decade remains to be seen but the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss has regularly pointed to his contract that runs until 2021, meaning fans can expect at least 18 more months of his leadership.
The big target, as ever, is Champions League glory and critics of Guardiola will point to the fact that he has never won Europe's biggest prize without the help of Lionel Messi.
While that is true, it also misses the point completely on the impact that Guardiola has already had at the Etihad Stadium. City are not just a team at the peak of their success, they're not a brief fad that will soon be forgotten.
Instead, they are a titanic force both domestically and across the globe. While the feather in the cap would be European glory, Guardiola already has enough stripes to prove his exceptional value.