Pep Guardiola Confirms Manchester City Exit After Historic 10-Year Run

MANCHESTER, United Kingdom (AFP) — Pep Guardiola said Friday that his time as Manchester City manager will end when the season closes, bringing down the curtain on a 10-year spell that remade the club’s standing in English football.

During his City reign, Guardiola collected 20 major honours. That haul included six Premier League championships and the club’s first Champions League crown, a breakthrough that had long eluded City before his arrival.

His last game on the touchline will come Sunday, when Aston Villa travel to the Etihad Stadium. Guardiola is still expected to remain connected to the wider City Football Group, with plans for him to serve as a global ambassador.

“What a time we have had together,” Guardiola said in an emotional video released by City. “Don’t ask me the reasons I’m leaving. There is no reason, but deep inside, I know it’s my time.

“Nothing is eternal — if it was, I would be here. Eternal will be the feeling, the people, the memories, the love I have for my Manchester City.”

News that the Catalan coach was preparing to go first surfaced Monday. That came two days after he lifted his third FA Cup with City. At the time, the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager offered little clarity about what would come next, and 24 hours later City saw the Premier League title go to Arsenal.

Enzo Maresca, the former Chelsea manager who once served on Guardiola’s City coaching staff, has been widely named in reports as the likely successor at the Etihad.

Club owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan paid tribute to Guardiola’s influence beyond the silverware. “He has made an indelible imprint on the DNA of the club. One that is borne more from how he won than from the many trophies he lifted,” Sheikh Mansour said.

“He has the unending gratitude of myself and the entire City family, a family of which he will always be part.”

Sheikh Mansour, who is vice-president of the United Arab Emirates, became central to City’s modern transformation after an investment vehicle from the UAE bought a controlling share in the club in 2008 and sharply changed its financial power.

Guardiola reached England already recognised as one of the most successful managers in European football. At Barcelona, his boyhood club, he spent four years in charge from 2008 to 2012, winning two Champions League titles and three La Liga crowns while attracting worldwide admiration.

He then moved to Bayern Munich, where he won three league titles across three seasons, though another Champions League triumph did not follow in Germany.

Many did not expect Guardiola to make a long Premier League stay. Instead, he settled in and left a mark that stretched well beyond Manchester City, changing coaching ideas and playing styles throughout English football.

“The club has a decade of memories and success to be forever grateful for, and much more than that, an evolution that cannot be undone,” City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak said.

City have also ordered a statue of Guardiola for the Etihad Stadium. It will be placed outside the stadium’s newly enlarged north stand, which is to carry his name.

With the financial backing linked to Abu Dhabi royalty, City moved from living behind local rival Manchester United to becoming the Premier League’s leading power. Guardiola’s possession-based approach has been adopted widely, from youth football to the top professional ranks.

“The impact he had on every league where he trained, it’s just one of a kind,” England manager Thomas Tuchel said. “One of the very, very, very best.”

Rival clubs have also looked to coaches shaped by Guardiola as they tried to close the gap. Arsenal ended a 22-year wait for the Premier League title under Mikel Arteta, another former Guardiola assistant.

Liverpool manager Arne Slot has said watching Guardiola’s Barcelona side helped shape his own ideas about coaching. Xabi Alonso, now in charge at Chelsea, also joined Bayern near the end of his playing days so he could experience working with Guardiola.