Manchester City set to replace Pep Guardiola this summer after the manager called time on his tenure at the Etihad after 10 years
Pep Guardiola is set to leave Manchester City at the end of the season to bring to an end an incredible decade at the Etihad. The Blues are looking to add the Premier League title this week to the FA Cup and Carabao Cup but it is understood that the manager has already agreed time to call time on his 10 years at the club
There has been speculation at various points in the last year that the City manager would depart this summer. Guardiola and City have pointed to the fact that the manager’s contract runs until 2027 – the manager did so again as recently as Monday’s press conference – and that he has never previously broken a contract, but an early departure is now expected with some staff having been resigned for weeks that the end was coming.
City have refused to comment on the story and Guardiola will be asked about it when he takes his team to Bournemouth on Tuesday for a game that they have to win. They will then finish the season on Sunday at home to Aston Villa in front of a record crowd at the Etihad, with a parade also announced for Monday.
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Enzo Maresca is expected to be the man picked to succeed Guardiola as the next City manager. The Italian originally worked in the club’s academy before returning as Guardiola’s assistant for the 2022/23 season as the team won the Treble.
He then left again to take charge of Leicester and after winning promotion back to the Premier League for the Foxes at the first time of asking, the coach went to Chelsea and won the Europa Conference League and then the Club World Cup. City spoke to Maresca earlier this season as the club considered options for if Guardiola were to leave, and he has been out of work since January when he left Chelsea by mutual consent.
City have not confirmed that Guardiola will leave or commented on their next moves, but whoever replaces Guardiola will face an impossible task to live up to a man who has changed the game forever. The Catalan leaves with a slew of records, including overseeing the first team to reach 100 Premier League points, the first to win four consecutive league titles in English football, the first to win all English domestic titles in one season, and just the second to complete the Treble of Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League in a single campaign.
Victory at Wembley in the FA Cup final on Saturday added more silverware to Guardiola’s collection and they retain an outside shot of surprising Arsenal in the final days of the Premier League. Were the Blues to do that, the 55-year-old will have won 15 out of 30 major domestic trophies in the last decade in addition to the Champions League, Super Cup, Club World Cup, and three Community Shields.
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