The impending announcement of Pep Guardiola’s departure from Manchester City has sent shock waves through the football world, with the Catalan expected to call time on his decade with the club this summer.
The 55-year-old’s exit is set to be announced at this Sunday’s Premier League finale, when City play Aston Villa, with another title still mathematically possible for Guardiola’s trophy-winning machines.
In his 10-year spell at the club Guardiola has won 17 major trophies, 20 in all, including six top-flight titles and a treble of Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup triumphs in 2022/23.
The most recent trophies won by Guardiola’s side are the 2025/26 Carabao and FA Cups with City completing a domestic cup double last weekend having beaten Chelsea 1-0 in the FA Cup final at Wembley.
Guardiola’s decision to leave the club leaves City with a gaping void to fill, but also opens up questions as to where he will go next.
If he does leave as expected he would likely be set for a break from football, similar to how he took time off between periods at Barcelona and Bayern Munich from 2012-13.
He managed Barcelona for four years until 2012 and after a one-year sabbatical, which he spent in New York, decided to return to coaching. He took charge of the German giants and spent a successful three years there before joining City.
While a break of some description is expected, it is thought Guardiola would be more inclined to turn to national team management rather than take charge at another club.
In late 2024 he told Dani Garcia in a YouTube interview on his Desmontadito channel: “A time will come when I feel it’s enough and I’ll definitely stop then.
“I’m not going to manage another team. I’m not talking about the long-term future but what I’m not going to do is leave Manchester City and go to another country to do the same thing as I am now.
“I wouldn’t have the energy to do so. I’m still here doing what I am today. But the thought of starting off somewhere else, with all the process of the training and so on… no, no, no. Maybe a national team but that’s different.”
He was previously approached by the FA to take over as England manager after Gareth Southgate’s departure, saying at the time – when he was yet to agree a contract extension with City – “anything can happen”. However, the job ultimately went to Thomas Tuchel.
A return to Barcelona feels unlikely as Hansi Flick signed a new deal after winning La Liga, while Luis de la Fuente remains in charge of the Spain national team, where he has been since December 2022.
Guardiola has previously been linked with the Brazil national team but Carlo Ancelotti appears secure in his position there, with a contract until 2030.
There is a vacancy at the Italian national team, with Silvio Baldini in charge as caretaker after Gennaro Gattuso stepped down following the side’s failure to qualify for the World Cup for the third time in a row. A project requiring a completely different challenge to managing City may appeal to Guardiola.
