Pep Predictably Brings His Own City Curtain Down
It was a moment that felt almost inevitable despite the denials and the pointing to the remaining 12 months still to serve on his contract, but that moment is here and Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has now announced his official departure from the Etihad Stadium.
The 55 year old former defensive midfielder is best known from his spell at Spanish La Liga giants Barcelona when it comes to his professional playing days, and with 47 international caps to his name for Spain, his later managerial career saw further success at the Camp Nou, in the German Bundesliga with Bayern Munich, and then his phenomenal Premier League spell in Manchester.
Having arrived back in the summer of 2016, whilst there is no denying he inherited a good side and spent eye watering amounts of money to make them even better, his time at the club comes to a close by dominating the latest sports news with 16 major trophies lifted during his decade tenure in charge - six Premier League titles (including four in succession), one Champions League, three FA Cups, five League Cups and a Fifa Club World Cup. The list grows when you include three FA Community Shields, the Super Cup and a handful of runners-up medals.
City, under Guardiola, also became only the second team in English history to complete the Treble in the 2022/23 campaign.
In recognition of his achievements, a statement from City explained that their new North Stand development project would now be named after him and there would be the obligatory statue of him outside of it. Despite his departure from the dug out, he will continue his relationship with the City Football Group by taking up a role as Global Ambassador.
There is no denying that his arrival to the Premier League became a watershed moment for the style and ethos of the English game, and whilst inverted wingbacks and false No 9's continue to have their proponents given the clear and obvious success that it returned - plenty of other neutrals in the wider world of the game would point to the money spent, hoovering up young talent and then doing little with them and a certain 115 financial charges that remain outstanding and are now probably older than the Big Bang itself.
Fans will remain split on Pep's talents versus simply collecting some of the best players on the planet and then getting more favourable treatment as an established serial winning side and benefiting from their own 'Fergie Time', but his record speaks for itself. With so much success, and now so much upheaval at the club with a punishment
decision still due if they are found to be in breach of the historical rules, not least the continued need to largely rebuild the aging first team squad and effectively start from scratch on a tactical front, it is no surprise that although Pep has started that process he does not fancy being around to finish it.
With Enzo Maresca the favourite to replace him ahead of the 2026/27 campaign it will be interesting to see how quickly City adjust now, but the vast majority in the English top flight would be delighted with an element of greater competition at the top of the table.
Manchester City