Pep Guardiola leaves Manchester City with unusual gift after leaving Etihad Stadium | OneFootball

Manchester City were handed a unique, albeit unusual, parting gift from Pep Guardiola as the Catalan vacated his city centre apartment, it has been revealed.

The botanical restructuring of the training centre comes as the infrastructure of the facility is undergoing alterations in terms of personnel to pave the way for incoming manager Enzo Maresca.

With the Italian tactician finalising his first-team staff structure, Maresca’s primary team is expected to aggressively prepare for the senior squad’s pre-season return throughout the course of July – depending on the timing of exits from the FIFA World Cup.

As the club targets a post-Pep Guardiola identity to wrestle the Premier League crown back from Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal when the 2026/27 campaign officially launches on the weekend of Saturday, 22 August, 2026, Guardiola’s legacy has literally put down permanent roots.

Pep Guardiola’s final gift to Manchester City

Now, according to MailSport’s Mike Keegan, Pep Guardiola donated all the pots and plants from his Manchester city centre apartment to the Etihad Campus.

It is revealed that the 55-year-old even hired a gardener to dig out the plants and transport them across to his former workplace, with a wide selection now taking ‘pride of place’ around the City Football Academy.

Moving on from the Pep Guardiola era

The donation has added a final layer of romantic closure to what has been a highly emotional summer for Manchester City’s hierarchy, moving away from a decade of greatness and the best period in the club’s history in terms of silverware success.

While the board continues to steer through assessing alternative wide forwards like Iliman Ndiaye amid a potential £60 million Tottenham move for Savinho, eyes are eagerly looking towards how City’s squad will be structured for the new season.