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Manuel Pellegrini is planning to go out as Manchester City manager with the Champions League trophy.

And he's already satisfied that however far the team goes this season, the platform to win Europe's premier competition is now in place.

"We have improved in the three years," he said.

"I hope we will win it this year, if not we have made important steps towards doing it in the next seasons.

"I also think that if we win the Champions League this year, it's not the end of the project here. Every year we must be involved in both competitions and I hope that this is the target for the club.

"It would be very important to do it this year, but you cannot think that it is all done. You must continue every year playing the same way in both competitions."

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While his predecessor Roberto Mancini still comments about the continuing importance of players he signed for City, Pellegrini believes he has methodically taken the Blues on in Europe, culminating in their unprecedented run to the semi-finals.

"At this club it's important to improve because three years ago we couldn't qualify from the group stage and we lost all the games," he said.

"Then we finished second in the group with 15 points and played very well.

"The next year was more difficult and to qualify for the round of 16, we won in Roma and against Bayern Munich at home.

"This year we won our group, we eliminated Paris St Germain, now we are in the semi-final, so I think that reflects how we have progressed and that is so important for me.

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"I'm sure that this club will be involved a lot of times in the last stages of the Champions League and will continue fighting for domestic titles, like we did this season.

"For me, as a manager, it would be very important to win the Champions League because no-one here has done it.

"If I can win it with this club, then better, and we are all involved in this together - manager, fans, players, all of us."

As the Etihad prepares to roll out the blue carpet for the superstars of Real Madrid, Pellegrini reckons it will be a treat for supporters to witness Sergio Aguero and Cristiano Ronaldo on the same pitch together, even if City have lots of other players to worry about.

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"It will be very good for the fans to see each player for each team.

"They are two of the most important strikers in the world. I think it

"will be very good for our fans to see this.

"Firstly, we must see if he's 100 per cent fit. He's a big player who makes the difference for Real Madrid, so it's very important to stop him. But if you focus on stopping Ronaldo, you also have [Gareth] Bale, [Karim] Benzema, you have a lot of other very good players.

"So it's important to play as a team and to try and defend as a team."