Legendary Premier League boss Pep Guardiola has told his Man City players that he will be leaving the Etihad Stadium, according to reports.
Legendary Premier League boss Pep Guardiola has told his Man City players that he will be leaving the Etihad Stadium, according to reports.
The Citizens won the first major trophy of the season on Sunday as they beat Arsenal 2-0 in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley with Nico O’Reilly scoring a brace to give Guardiola yet another piece of silverware.
Guardiola has now won 19 trophies since arriving at Man City in 2016 and he has a chance of winning two more before the season is over.
Man City are into the FA Cup quarter-finals, while they are still in the Premier League title race despite being nine points adrift of leaders Arsenal.
The Citizens have a game in hand on the Gunners and Mikel Arteta’s side still have to travel to the Etihad Stadium next month.
Guardiola has another year left on his contract at the end of the season and seemed to hint that he could see out his deal in a recent press conference.
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When asked if he would be at Man City next year, Guardiola said: “Oh, everybody wants to fire me, right. Oh my god, guys. One day I will come here and say, ‘bye bye, guys’.
“I’m here, one more year of contract.”
But now reports in Spain claim that Guardiola ‘has already confirmed to the Manchester City players that he is going’.
Guardiola ‘has already taken a significant step in the dressing room by informing his players’ of his decision and it is ‘not a response to results or external pressure in recent months, but rather a personal matter’.
The report adds: ‘Guardiola has been at the helm of highly demanding projects for years and believes the time has come to close a chapter that has been as successful as it has been intense. The accumulated strain is beginning to take its toll, and the manager wants a change of pace, at least for a reasonable period.’
Guardiola has apparently chosen ‘his next destination’ as Barcelona, the city, and not the football club as he looks to take advantage of some quiet time.
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The report continues: ‘Guardiola’s plan is not to continue coaching in the short term. His intention is to return to Barcelona, the city where he has his personal life and where he wants to regain peace of mind. This isn’t a return to Barca or taking on a new sporting project with the club, but rather a change of phase more related to his personal life than his professional career.’
There is a suggestion that he could still stay next season but ‘his priority now is to reduce that intensity and focus on his closest circle until he regains the energy to take on a new role.’
Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Enzo Maresca is the man identified to replace Guardiola when the Spaniard decides to call it a day at Man City.
Romano said on his YouTube channel: “Manchester City as a club are waiting for Pep Guardiola to decide. At the moment, according to my information, the situation is still open. Pep has one more year of his contract, so if he says nothing he will be Man City manager next season. Eventually if Pep decides to leave between now and the end of the season, the name already identified by Manchester City to become the next manager at some point remains, according to my information, Enzo Maresca.
“Maresca has not had so far any sort of contact with Tottenham or Manchester United. Those close to the former Chelsea manager are aware of the situation and interest from Manchester City.
“Manchester City are just preparing for when it’s time to say goodbye to Pep Guardiola and it’s for Pep to decide and he has not made any decision yet.”
Ex-Premier League midfielder Danny Murphy is unsure whether Maresca would be good fit for Man City after being “fortunate” to get the Chelsea job.
Murphy said: “I don’t necessarily think that would be good for City. I still think he’s in the infancy of his managerial journey. He was fortunate to get the Chelsea job from Leicester, thrust into a huge football club, and he did all right.”
The former Liverpool midfielder added: “He had some success, the team played okay, won a couple of trophies, players progressed. But his fragility and inability to deal with the enormity of the situation were there for all to see.
“Speaking out about the owners, some of the stories you hear about what went on behind the scenes. That’s fine, because managers, like players, learn on the job. But to be thrust into Manchester City, a club that expects to win leagues and Champions Leagues every season, competing at the elite level with superstars, I think there are better candidates.
“Any manager worth his salt would win games at Manchester City, but there’s a difference between winning games and winning the biggest trophies. Regardless of Maresca’s history at City, I don’t think that would be a good appointment.”
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