Pep Guardiola has been the manager of Manchester City for ten years. During that time, the Catalan has transformed the Citizens into one of the best clubs on the continent, celebrating many successes and winning numerous titles. On Sunday, however, he could bring his time in Manchester to a close.
On Saturday, Pep Guardiola led Manchester City to a 1-0 victory over Chelsea FC, securing the FA Cup. Theoretically, he could still win the league title, but that would require league-leading Arsenal to slip up—which doesn’t seem likely at this point. On Tuesday, the Citizens play in Bournemouth, before the season finale on Sunday with a home match against Aston Villa.
That could also be the Catalan’s final game as City’s coach. As reported by the Daily Mail and The Athletic, the 55-year-old plans to step down as manager at the end of the season, even though his contract runs until 2027. The news is expected to be officially announced after the match against Villa.
The report further states that Manchester City’s club leadership has already begun informing key business partners and sponsors about the impending departure of the star coach. Additionally, a parade in honor of Guardiola is scheduled to take place on Monday.
Speculation about a successor
There is already speculation about a possible successor—and former Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca, who served as Guardiola’s assistant coach in 2022/23, is considered the most promising candidate for the position at the Etihad Stadium. He is highly respected in Manchester, partly because he is regarded as a meticulous worker.
The 46-year-old coached City’s U-21 team in 2020/21 and returned in the summer of 2022 as an assistant coach for the first team under Guardiola. In 2023/24, he took over Leicester City and led the Foxes to promotion to the Premier League before moving to Stamford Bridge. He subsequently guided Chelsea to the Champions League and also won the Conference League and the Club World Cup with the Blues. However, following a poor run of form, he parted ways with the London club at the start of the year.
Success after success with City
Guardiola is one of the most successful managers in the history of the Sky Blues; he won the league title six times with Man City (2018, 2019, 2021–2024), and his four consecutive titles from 2021 to 2024 remain unmatched in the Premier League. In addition, he won the FA Cup three times (2019, 2023, 2026), the League Cup five times (2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2026), as well as the Champions League in 2023 and the Club World Cup in the same year.
