Pep Guardiola and Manchester City officials break silence on new sporting director Hugo Viana | OneFootball

Key figures inside Manchester City have broken their silence on the club’s new sporting director Hugo Viana – who replaces long-standing director of football, Txiki Begiristain.

The transition from Begiristain to Viana represents one of the most significant behind-the-scenes changes at the Etihad Stadium in over a decade, with the former central to building the modern Manchester City era and leading recruitment strategies that brought in icons such as Kevin De Bruyne, Erling Haaland, and Rodri.

Begiristain’s Manchester City legacy is defined not only by the trophies won at the club, but also by reshaping the Etihad Stadium into one of football’s most admired recruitment operations.

Hugo Viana arrives with strong pedigree of his own, having held the role of sporting director at Sporting CP, where he oversaw a production line of elite young talent and profitable transfers, guiding the Portuguese side to an immensely successful period alongside Ruben Amorim.

He has already been linked to City’s recent shift in financial planning, particularly the strategy to reinvest wage savings from high-profile exits like Kevin De Bruyne, Ederson, Jack Grealish, and İlkay Gündoğan into squad renewal and long-term contract extensions.

Speaking during a brand new in-house documentary dedicated to the club’s legendary sporting director Txiki Begiristain, titled ‘A Farewell to Txiki’, the 61-year-old himself offered his thoughts on his replacement – a figure he had a key say in selecting.

“Good guy, also calm,” Begiristain said of the former Sporting CP director of football. “I can see, you know, that young, energetic sporting director come in and he is not scared about taking decisions.”

Manchester City’s chief executive officer, Ferran Soriano also offered his thoughts, “His integration with the group has been seamless. He’s one of us and I think that’s the perfect outcome.”

Begiristain and Soriano also featured within the documentary at Manchester’s Catalan restaurant Tast, alongside head coach Pep Guardiola, where the trio openly discussed their first impressions of Viana.

“He’s decisive? Yes. He gets along well with people? Yes. He’s calm? Extremely calm. Well, maybe we have the new Txiki,” admitted Soriano. Begiristain responded, “Let’s hope so. Let’s hope you have him. Hope he stays for 13 years or 15, because he is younger.”

“He has to be like Txiki,” said Soriano, before Pep Guardiola said of his newest boardroom colleague, “And he has that something.”

The documentary has offered rare public insight into how Guardiola and the club’s hierarchy view Viana, and their early verdicts suggest full confidence in his ability to carry forward Manchester City’s footballing vision.

Supporters will now be watching closely to see how Viana puts his stamp on operations, particularly in the areas of succession planning and navigating the Premier League’s tightening financial regulations.

Viana’s first true test has come and gone in the recent summer transfer window, where the aforementioned exits have been followed up by big-name signings such as Gianluigi Donnarumma, James Trafford, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Tijjani Reijnders, and Rayan Cherki.

For now, though, Pep Guardiola and Ferran Soriano’s words underline the baton has been passed with confidence. If Viana can match Begiristain’s longevity while maintaining City’s ruthless consistency in recruitment, the club’s leadership transition may prove ultra-smooth.