{"id":34722,"date":"2026-05-26T21:39:41","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T21:39:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/26\/ilkay-gundogan-warns-man-city-fans-about-josep-guardiolas-replacement\/"},"modified":"2026-05-26T21:39:41","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T21:39:41","slug":"ilkay-gundogan-warns-man-city-fans-about-josep-guardiolas-replacement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/26\/ilkay-gundogan-warns-man-city-fans-about-josep-guardiolas-replacement\/","title":{"rendered":"Ilkay Gundogan warns Man City fans about Josep Guardiola’s replacement"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Ilkay Gundogan reveals how he often fought with Pep Guardiola at the training ground, then went home and drank champagne<\/h2>\n
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Ilkay Gundogan (right) battles with Pep Guardiola at the training ground (Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n
Ilkay Gundogan has warned Manchester City and their supporters against comparing their new manager to Josep Guardiola. Guardiola’s 10 brilliant years at the Etihad have come to an end.<\/p>\n
Enzo Maresca has been chosen as Guardiola’s successor and is considered to be the first candidate to take on the mission impossible task.<\/p>\n
The Italian, who was released by Chelsea in early 2026, is expected to meet club leaders and agree an initial three-year contract.<\/p>\n
And Gundogan believes whoever replaces Guardiola should be allowed to be his own person. Because he admits that no one can match the departing Spaniard.<\/p>\n
Gundogan said: “I think the most difficult thing is not to try to compare too much. Obviously there are some names being thrown around, but we might know who it will be.”<\/p>\n
read more: Jack Grealish has already decided on a summer transfer after receiving disdain from Pep Guardiola<\/span><\/span>read more: Josep Guardiola talks about the first thing he will do if he becomes Manchester City’s next manager<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\u201cBut don’t try to compare them to each other, because at the end of the day, every director has their fine points.<\/p>\n
“Maybe not as generals, but sometimes they want to do things differently. They’re different as people.<\/p>\n
“They like things different than what other people like, so accept that and try to get to a place where that comes in and welcome them with open arms.<\/p>\n
“And I think this club is very good, very smart and kind of making the right decisions. So I’m sure the new guys coming back here will be very successful as well.”<\/p>\n
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Enzo Maresca is expected to be confirmed as Guardiola’s replacement at Man City (Image: Darren Walsh, Chelsea FC, Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Gundogan, who won 14 major trophies under Guardiola, revealed how he battled with his former manager on the training ground.<\/p>\n
Gundogan, who lived next door to Guardiola in Manchester city center, added: “To be honest, I have a lot of memories. It was when I had a fight with him at the training ground.”<\/p>\n
“We still talk about a situation that happened in training when he was still here.<\/p>\n
“Pep was saying something and I was shouting back at him, but actually he was saying something nice to me and I was going crazy. He was laughing about the whole situation.”<\/p>\n
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Gundogan has warned City fans not to compare the new manager with the outgoing manager.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cI laugh about that, because obviously I\u2019m his neighbor, so we get more opportunities to just have a glass of wine or champagne or whatever and have a conversation.<\/p>\n
“So I really appreciate that and I really appreciate him as a human being. As a coach, we don’t have to talk about him and everyone loves that, but as a human being, to me he’s a great human being.”<\/p>\n
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![\"Pep](\"https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article36085932.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s1200f\/0_GettyImages-2215590648.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>![\"Enzo](\"https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article37196110.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s1200e\/0_Chelsea-FC-v-Manchester-City-Pre-Season-Friendly.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>![\"Gundogan](\"https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article30152994.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s1200e\/0_GettyImages-1258413317.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>![\"content](\"https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article33404045.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s510b\/0_Sky-Factbox.jpg\"\/)
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