Pep Guardiola will officially deliver news of his departure from Manchester City to chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak before the weekend.
Daily Mail Sport revealed that Guardiola is set on leaving a post he has held for a decade at the end of the season, bringing an end to a glittering career in England.
City – who conceded the Premier League title to Arsenal with a 1-1 draw at Bournemouth on Tuesday night – have been planning for the eventuality for some time.
Enzo Maresca in the frame to take over should a compensation package be reached with former employers Chelsea.
‘The first person I have to talk to is my chairman,’ Guardiola said. ‘We’ll talk in the next days. Always I said that when you are fighting for the titles, if you decide (to announce an exit) then from the first moment the players don’t follow you anymore.
‘I always talked to my chairman: “Pep what are you going to do?” And I always said to let the season go and we’ll talk. He deserves to be first, I deserve to talk to him first about what we are going to do.
Pep Guardiola is set to reveal that he is leaving Manchester City on the final day of the season
Manchester City will no longer have anything to fight for on the final day after drawing to Bournemouth on Tuesday night, handing Arsenal the Premier League title
‘Let me talk to my chairman. I know the fans love me, I love them more. I adore that place. I was incredibly focused on my job. While we were in the competitions, I was there.’
Despite the disappointment, Guardiola is enthused by the progress that City have made amid an overhaul of players, congratulating ex-assistant Mikel Arteta and Arsenal for clinching their first title since 2004.
The 55-year-old suggested that recent fixture congestion has played a part in City struggling to keep pace with the Gunners.
‘Since January things were really good,’ Guardiola added. ‘We had many injuries and many things we could not control. I learnt a lot this season with what you have to do to win with circumstances we could not our control.
‘We played in many moments with difficulties. We never gave up. I would love to arrive until the last moment against Aston Villa at home with a chance but we didn’t win today because we missed that pace, that situation that is required to play teams like Bournemouth.
‘The travel to London, Chelsea wasn’t a brilliant final. You need to be fresh. Our calendar was really tough in the last part of the season.’
