As they get ready to play again on Thursday, Manchester City’s Secret Santa claims that the champions already have the ideal Christmas present.

Manager Pep Guardiola handed the team a significant boost during the World Cup break by signing a two-year contract extension.

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Fortunately for City supporters, there are no ho-ho clauses in it.

As a Sky Blue Santa, Kevin De Bruyne posed for the club’s “A Time for Giving” Christmas campaign.

“It was wonderful to hear that while we were away,” the Belgian World Cup midfielder added. Pep has contributed much to this football team, and I have no doubt that he will do so in the future.

“We aim to win every match and competition that we participate in and Pep’s impact on helping us try to achieve that is just huge.”

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In Thursday’s Carabao Cup match, City supporters will be hopeful that this Santa can defeat longtime rivals Liverpool.

Their top priority is to advance to the final eight at the holders’ expense.

It should come as no surprise that the reigning champions want to go within five points of the leaders, Arsenal.

De Bruyne is prepared to vent his fury over the World Cup on Manchester City’s Premier League opponents.

Despite being one of the favorites, the Red Devils were unable to advance from their group, and the Belgian superstar had a terrible time in Qatar.

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And a lot of the blame was attributed to De Bruyne, 31, who, in an interview conducted early in the tournament, essentially wrote off his country’s hopes.

Then, as Roberto Martinez’s team was eliminated by Morocco and Croatia, he failed to find his best form.

However, he has already thrown himself back into the domestic season with the Premier League winners following a brief period of recuperation and introspection.

After posing as Father Christmas, he now aspires to be more like Scrooge and ensure that the Etihad receives all of the trophies that are up for grabs till the end of the season.

“We had a disappointing World Cup campaign,” De Bruyne remarked after reflecting on a dreary month.

“Unfortunately, this was not one of the huge tournaments that we have had in the past that have been successful.

“Now that I’m back with City, my goal is to build on our successful first half of the season so that we have the best chance of taking home trophies at the end of the campaign.”

City had more players participating in the World Cup than any other team, and manager Guardiola will need to assess their mental and physical health when they rejoin the team in the days ahead.

Julian Alvarez, the forward who was instrumental in Argentina’s incredible victory, is one player the manager won’t have to worry about.

Although he had shown signs of talent at City, the £14 million transfer from River Plate had mostly been overshadowed by fellow newcomer Erling Haaland.