Josep Guardiola has had a trophy-filled career as Manchester City manager, but his future is in doubt
Josep Guardiola reportedly decides on Manchester City’s future (Image: Getty Images)
Manchester City manager Josep Guardiola will decide on his departure after Sunday’s Carabao Cup final against Arsenal. The 55-year-old is in the final 18 months of a two-year contract extension, after signing a new deal in 2024.
According to the Daily Mail, the 55-year-old will leave hours after the showdown with the Gunners at Wembley and consider what is best for him and City. In recent months, former Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has been among the candidates to succeed the Catalan great, raising fresh questions about his future in Greater Manchester.
City were kicked out of the Champions League by Guardiola’s former enemies Real Madrid, as Los Blancos won 5-1 on aggregate. After Bernardo Silva was given a straight red card for handball in the first half, Vinicius Jr. scored twice in the second leg.
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According to the report, City’s sporting director Hugo Viana has approached Maresca as a possible replacement for Guardiola, and has named Maresca as a candidate from among those who are said to have been discussed. The 55-year-old’s future has increasingly come up in conversations at the Etihad Stadium, but talks have boiled down to an extension to November 2024 amid a grim outcome.
But Guardiola faces another big challenge if he is to add another piece of silverware to his illustrious collection, as the eight-time Premier League champions sit nine points behind league leaders Arsenal.
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However, the Daily Mail report comes hours after City manager said East Manchester’s future was “bright” following their Champions League round-of-16 exit.
He said, “It’s difficult to lose 4-0 and play with 10 players against 11 players, but we did everything we could.”
“We have an exceptional team and an exceptional group of players. The future is bright. It’s a bit of a learning curve (curve), but it was supposed to be 11-11. But we never know. Maybe we’ll lose 6-0, but that’s the fact.”
Two years have passed since manager Jurgen Klopp made the surprising decision to leave Liverpool prematurely. The German head coach lamented a lack of energy after eight-and-a-half years of relentless play at Anfield, where he transformed the Reds from Champions League outsiders to English champions and Club World Cup winners.
It remains to be seen whether Pep Guardiola will step away from the Premier League spotlight alongside Jurgen Klopp. (Image: Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)
It will soon become clear whether Guardiola will follow his footballing enemies and leave before the end of the season. Since his last selection for Liverpool’s national team, Klopp has looked refreshed and appeared at sporting events across Europe, most recently at the Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina, while taking up his new role as Red Bull’s head of global football.
However, the Catalan player has set his sights on Real Madrid, with Klopp as one of his biggest rivals after leaving the Spanish giants.
He said: “No, Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool was the biggest challenge. You can hardly understand what it’s like to play against Liverpool.”
“Those games were a great learning experience for the team, because playing against a team like us that wasn’t in the competition 12 or 13 years ago, and the generation we were in, sometimes they won the game, and sometimes Real Madrid beat us and we won. We had a great time too.”
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