Pep Guardiola, one of football’s greatest ever managers has announced he will step down as Manchester City head coach at the end of the season, having won 20 trophies with the Cityzens.
His former assistant, Enzo Maresca, has emerged as the favourite to take over the role as Man City progress into a new era.
In an emotional goodbye video posted on Manchester City’s social media pages today, Guardiola said: “Eternal will be the feeling, the people, the memories, the love I have for my Manchester City.”
The Manchester club also announced today that the North Stand will be renamed in the Spaniard’s honour.
A decorated decade
Six Premier League titles, three FA Cups, five League Cups, a Champions League, three Community Shields and a Club World Cup – there are few words to sum up what Pep Guardiola has achieved in Manchester.
Having needed a season to get to grips with the Premier League in 2016/17, Man City exceeded even the most optimistic expectations in his second season.
With the likes of Sergio Aguero, Raheem Sterling, and Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City became the first side to acquire 100 points in a Premier League campaign.
In the six seasons that followed, Man City lifted the Premier League trophy in five of them while becoming the first side to win it four times in a row.
The League Cup turned into a certainty for Guardiola, too, as they won it year after year.
Up until 2022/23, the Champions League had become the trophy that always evaded them before a special Rodri strike in the final against Inter Milan meant Guardiola had won everything with his Manchester City team.
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What next for Man City?
The favourite to fill the infinitely large shoes of Guardiola is his former assistant at Manchester City, Enzo Maresca.
Despite a time of mixed fortunes in West London as head coach of Chelsea, Maresca seems a sensible candidate for the role, having already worked within the club.
The Italian was in charge of their under-21s team in 2020/21 before being appointed as Guardiola’s assistant a year later.
Man City legend, Vincent Kompany, has also been a name circling around following Guardiola’s announced departure, while Andoni Iraola and Luis Enrique have also been rumoured to be of interest.
As it stands, the Pep Guardiola chapter has come to an end – English football is lucky to have been home to one of the all-time greats.
