Ahead of their clash against Premier League champions, Manchester City, Southampton FC boss, Mark Hughes, decided to give them a reality check, saying they still have a long way to go before they can be called elite.





The former Manchester United striker thought even though City have come a long way in the last few seasons, they still can't be mentioned in the same bracket as Real Madrid, Barcelona or arch-rivals Manchester United.









Mark Hughes: Manchester City aren’t a superpower like Manchester United, Barcelona & Real Madrid https://t.co/F4EZLE4stl via todayng pic.twitter.com/yfN1IfuNlf — akinsowon olusegun (@akinpainforum1) May 13, 2018





"The name of Man City does not resonate like the Real Madrids, Barcelonas and Man Uniteds of this world, yet," he said, as quoted by Goal.





"I say ‘yet’ because if they continue in the same vein and have the ­resources to go into the market like they have done in recent times, then clearly they will become a huge power in world ­football. But it takes time and it is only the early stages."





Hughes, who spent 18 months in charge of ​City between June 2008 and December 2009, admitted City have come a long way in a short span of time.





The Welshman added: “When I ­became manager of Man City they were just a mid-table Premier League team. What is that, eight years ago?"





"They have come a huge distance in a short space of time, so you can’t start saying they are the best there has ever been ­because you need to do it over a longer period. They have the potential and ­resources to be able to affect the top end of the ­Premier League and European trophies for 10, 15 years."









Mark Hughes: “I say ‘yet’ because if they continue in the same vein and have the resources to go into the market like they have done in recent times, then clearly they will become a huge power in world football.



But it takes time and it is only the early stages.” — City Chief ️ (@City_Chief) May 13, 2018





"And they could well become the team of this generation, like United and Liverpool before and Chelsea and Arsenal in between. It is up to everybody else to try to stop that."





Despite being ruthless in the domestic competitions, City were outclassed by an exuberant Liverpool side in the Champions League quarter-final. Now, after doing the Premier League and Carabao Cup double, Guardiola would look to bolster his squad even further to challenge for the Champions League, next season.