Pep Guardiola set to leave Manchester City with replacement lined up
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SportFootballLiverpool FCPep Guardiola, long-time rival of Liverpool is set to leave Manchester City at the end of the season after 10 years in charge,Pep Guardiola is poised to depart Manchester City at the end of the campaign, bringing the curtain down on a remarkable decade at the Etihad. City are aiming to secure the Premier League title this week alongside the FA Cup and Carabao Cup, but it is understood the manager has already decided the time is right to conclude his 10-year tenure at the club.Speculation has surfaced at various stages over the past year suggesting the Guardiola would leave this summer.
Guardiola and City have pointed towards the fact that his contract runs until 2027 - something the Catalan reiterated as recently as Monday's press conference - and that he has never previously walked away from a contract early.However, a premature exit is now anticipated, with some staff having been braced for weeks that the conclusion was approaching.READ MORE: Liverpool 'have to be careful' with Arne Slot as Alexander Isak issue addressedREAD MORE: Virgil van Dijk pays ultimate compliment to Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson before Liverpool exitsCity have declined to comment on the reports and Guardiola will face questions when he takes his side to Bournemouth on Tuesday for a match they must win. They will then conclude the campaign on Sunday at home to Aston Villa before a record Etihad crowd, with a parade also scheduled for Monday.Enzo Maresca is anticipated to be the man chosen to replace Guardiola as City's next manager.The Italian initially worked within the club's academy before returning as the former Barcelona boss's assistant during the 2022/23 season when City claimed the Treble.Maresca subsequently departed to take the reins at Leicester City and, having guided the Foxes back to the Premier League at the first attempt, he moved to Chelsea where he secured both the Europa Conference League and the Club World Cup.City held talks with Maresca earlier this season as the club weighed up their options should Guardiola depart, and he has been without a job since January when he and Chelsea parted ways by mutual consent, reports the Manchester Evening News.City have neither confirmed Guardiola's exit nor revealed their future plans, but whoever steps into his shoes will face a near-impossible challenge to match a man who has transformed football as we know it.Guardiola will depart with a remarkable haul of records to his name, including guiding the first team to accumulate 100 Premier League points, the first to claim four successive top-flight titles in English football, the first to sweep all domestic honours in a single season, and only the second to complete the Treble of Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League in one campaign.Saturday's FA Cup final triumph at Wembley added yet more silverware to Guardiola's cabinet, and City still harbour an outside chance of pipping Arsenal to the Premier League title in its closing stages.Should City pull that off, the 55-year-old will have claimed 15 of 30 major domestic honours over the past decade, alongside the Champions League, Super Cup, Club World Cup and three Community Shields.Choose Liverpool Echo as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value.Pep GuardiolaLiverpool FCManchester City FCBarclay's Premier League