Pep Guardiola is set to leave Manchester City at the end of the season, bringing down the curtain on one of the most successful managerial reigns in the history of English football — with an announcement expected on Sunday following City’s final Premier League game against Aston Villa.
The Daily Mail reports that City have begun informing their commercial partners that the announcement is imminent, and that the news has been an open secret among those close to the Catalan coach for some time. Sources inside City’s training ground suggest Guardiola made his decision weeks ago, with further changes to the backroom staff also anticipated as part of a wider transition.
If confirmed, it will end a decade at the Etihad Stadium in which the 55-year-old has transformed Manchester City into one of the dominant forces in world football. In ten years he has won 20 trophies — including six Premier League titles, among them an unprecedented four in succession, and the club’s first ever Champions League triumph in 2023. He arrived in 2016 from Bayern Munich and has never won fewer than two trophies in a single season.
The farewell will be marked in style. City beat Chelsea 1-0 at Wembley on Saturday to lift the FA Cup, and an open-top bus parade through Manchester is expected on Monday, with the procession set to begin in the Northern Quarter at 4pm before finishing outside the Colin Bell Stand reception at the Etihad Stadium an hour later. City also have a crucial trip to Bournemouth on Tuesday before the final day clash with Villa, with the Premier League title still mathematically alive ahead of Arsenal.
There are reports that City are also in advanced discussions to name a stand at the Etihad Stadium in Guardiola’s honour, with the club internally acknowledging the scale of what he has achieved over the past decade.
The leading candidate to succeed him is Enzo Maresca. Maresca was part of Guardiola’s coaching staff during the treble-winning 2023 season before leaving for Leicester, where he earned promotion to the Premier League, and subsequently took charge at Chelsea. Guardiola has described Maresca as “the best manager in the world.” Reports suggest an in-depth package has been agreed with Maresca, under the guidance of new City sporting director Hugo Viana. Vincent Kompany, currently managing Bayern Munich, has also been mentioned as a candidate.
Guardiola has repeatedly insisted in public that he intended to see out his contract, which runs until 2027. As recently as Thursday, ahead of the FA Cup final, he dismissed suggestions he would leave, saying: “No way. I have one more year on my contract.” Whether Sunday’s expected announcement represents a change of heart or a carefully managed exit that was always the plan, the end of the Guardiola era at City will mark a defining moment in the history of English football.
