OFFICIAL: Pep Guardiola to Leave Manchester City at End of Season
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has officially announced he will leave the club at the end of the season, bringing down the curtain on a monumental 10-year tenure at the Etihad Stadium.
The 55-year-old Spaniard will take charge of his final game on Sunday when the Blues host Aston Villa. The announcement comes despite Guardiola having a year left on his contract, which was due to run until the summer of 2027.
City have already moved fast to secure a successor, reaching an agreement in principle with former Chelsea manager and Guardiola’s one-time assistant, Enzo Maresca, on a three-year deal. Guardiola will not cut ties with the club completely, however, having agreed to transition into a Global Ambassador role for the City Football Group (CFG).
Since arriving in Manchester in 2016, Guardiola has established one of the most dominant dynasties in English football history, winning 17 major trophies, including the historic treble in 2023. His final week in charge has already yielded the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup, though City’s hopes of a domestic treble were dashed earlier this week when a – draw at Bournemouth officially handed the Premier League title to Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal.
Addressing his departure in an emotional statement, Guardiola insisted there was no single overriding reason behind his decision to step away a year early.
”Don’t ask me the reasons I’m leaving. There is no reason, but deep inside, I know it’s my time,” Guardiola said. “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.
”This is a city built from work. From graft. You see it in the colour of the bricks. We worked. We suffered. We fought. And we did things our own way. Our way.”
City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak paid a glowing tribute to the departing manager, confirming that the newly expanded North Stand at the Etihad Stadium will be renamed the Pep Guardiola Stand in his honour.
”There have been points along the way when he could have stopped, and it would have been enough,” Al Mubarak said. “Somehow, Pep always found new energy and pushed on, finding different and innovative ways to continue winning and delivering success.”
Guardiola informed his squad of the decision on Monday evening, sparking an emotional week at the club’s training ground. Attention will now turn to Sunday’s final match against Aston Villa, where a packed Etihad Stadium will bid farewell to the most successful manager in Manchester City’s history.
