Manchester City have officially confirmed that Pep Guardiola will step down as manager at the end of the 2025/26 season, bringing to a close one of the most remarkable chapters in modern football.
After a decade at the Etihad, the Catalan leaves as the club’s greatest ever manager — a transformative figure who turned a wealthy but underachieving side into a relentless winning machine. Twenty major trophies tell only part of the story.
The real legacy lies in how he reshaped not just City, but the entire Premier League landscape.
Guardiola arrived in the summer of 2016 with a reputation that preceded him: the man who had reinvented Barcelona and made tiki-taka synonymous with beauty and dominance.
Many wondered if his intense, possession-obsessed style would translate to England’s more chaotic, physical game. It did — and then some.
The numbers are staggering. Six Premier League titles. A historic Treble in 2022/23. That record-breaking 100-point season in 2017/18.
Four consecutive league titles from 2021 to 2024. One Champions League. Multiple domestic cups. And this season, even as transition whispers grew louder, he added the Carabao Cup and FA Cup to the cabinet, bringing his personal trophy count at City to 20.
But this isn’t just about silverware. It’s about the football. City under Guardiola became a team that played with a rhythm few could match — full-backs inverting, midfielders dropping deep, wingers tucking in, false nines rotating. Opponents were often left chasing shadows. For a while, it felt almost unfair.
There were difficult moments too. The early Champions League exits. The painful semi-final losses. The scrutiny over club ownership and the 115 charges that have loomed large.
Through it all, Guardiola remained the ultimate competitor — intense on the touchline, philosophical in press conferences, and utterly devoted to the craft.
In his own words upon confirmation: “What a time we have had together.” Simple, but loaded with meaning.
A New Chapter for City
City have moved quickly, with Enzo Maresca — Guardiola’s former assistant and the man who impressed at Leicester and Chelsea — widely expected to step into the role.
It’s a sensible, continuity-driven choice, though the shadow cast by Pep will be enormous.
For fans, Sunday’s final Premier League game against Aston Villa at the Etihad will carry heavy emotion.
Expect tributes, scarves held high, and a proper send-off for the man who delivered the glory they had craved for so long.
A victory parade is already being planned for Monday.Guardiola isn’t disappearing entirely.
He’ll stay connected to the City Football Group as a Global Ambassador, ensuring his influence lingers behind the scenes.
The Greatest of His Generation?
As the dust settles, the debate will rage: where does this place him among the all-time greats? Ferguson? Wenger? Mourinho? Ancelotti? For many, Guardiola sits at the very pinnacle — the manager who perfected the art of modern football while demanding standards that pushed players to their absolute limits.
He leaves City in a far stronger position than he found them: a global superpower with a squad full of elite talent, a state-of-the-art training facility, and a winning culture ingrained at every level.
Thank you, Pep. For the nights in Munich and Istanbul. For the masterclasses at the Etihad. It makes us believe that football could be both ruthless and beautiful at the same time.
