MANCHESTER, England (AP) – Josep Guardiola’s record-breaking 10-year tenure at Manchester City could be coming to an end, according to reports in British media.
City declined to comment on reports from national broadcaster BBC and the Daily Mail that Guardiola, 55, is expected to leave the club at the end of this season. He has one year left on his contract.
According to the BBC, former Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca, who was Guardiola’s assistant at City, is the frontrunner to take the job. Representatives for Mr. Maresca did not immediately respond to requests from The Associated Press.
Guardiola, who has won 17 major trophies with City since arriving in English football in 2016, has been repeatedly asked in recent weeks whether he will remain at City beyond this season.
Asked another question about his future on Monday, he rolled his eyes and replied, “As I’ve said many times, I have one more year left.”
Guardiola spent the most successful decade at the club in City’s history, having spent longer at the club than Barcelona (2008-12) and Bayern Munich (2013-16).
His biggest achievement with City is to follow in the footsteps of Manchester United in 1999 and win the treble of the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup in the 2022-23 season.
Guardiola’s City side have won the Premier League six times, becoming the only team in the almost 140-year history of English football to win four consecutive top-flight titles (2021-24), the first team to collect 100 points in a top-flight season (2017-18) and the first team to win the domestic treble of league, FA Cup and League Cup in the same season (2018-19).
City have won both the League Cup and FA Cup this season and are second to Arsenal in the Premier League, needing a win against Bournemouth on Tuesday to remain in contention for the title until Sunday’s final match. City are five points behind Arsenal.
Guardiola also changed the face of English football in general, ushering in a style of football that was a possession-based approach that started with flicking the ball away from goalkeepers and defenders, and eventually came to be imitated across the country, from children’s teams at grassroots level to rival teams in the Premier League.
Asked on Monday if he thought the stand at City’s Etihad Stadium should be named after him, Guardiola said: “The important thing in our lives is to be able to look back and say ‘Wow’.” You can look at it with a big smile on your face and say it was a good thing. ”
“I’m sure,” he added. “Most people who have lived through this era have felt that.”
Guardiola’s last few years at City have been turbulent, with the club currently embroiled in a major legal battle with the Premier League. City was indicted by the league on more than 100 charges in February 2023. financial violationsincluding providing misleading information about your source of income.
The case was heard by an independent committee between September and December 2024, but no verdict has been rendered.
Punishment could be as extreme as expulsion from the top echelons. City have always denied the charges, with Guardiola saying: “We are completely convinced that we are innocent.”
Maresca knows City well
It’s been four and a half months since then. Maresca leaves Chelsea This comes at a time when English media had already reported that City had linked him to succeed Guardiola as manager, following an apparent deterioration in the relationship between the Italian and the club.
Maresca ignored those reports at the time.
He knows City well, having served as academy coach in 2020-21 and as Guardiola’s assistant in 2022-23, when the club won the treble. Maresca then joined Leicester and led them to the Second Division Championship title.
Maresca’s only experience of playing at the top level as a senior coach was during his 18 months at Chelsea from June 2024 to January 2026, during which the London outfit won the Club World Cup and Conference League titles, as well as qualifying for the Champions League.
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Douglas reported from Sundsvall, Sweden.
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