Pep Guardiola has left a legacy at Manchester City that will live forever | OneFootball

It is official: Pep Guardiola will leave Manchester City at the end of this season. The news has been confirmed, and Guardiola will say goodbye to the club on Sunday alongside two of the best players throughout his tenure as City manager: John Stones and Bernardo Silva. In a way, that is fitting. As Pep Guardiola is set to leave Manchester City, he will leave a legacy at the club that will live forever. He has also taken City from being a strong club to an absolute powerhouse that has been built in his image. In the process, he has also left his mark on English football.

Pep Guardiola leaves a legacy of dominance at Manchester City which may never be seen again.

When Pep Guardiola arrived at Manchester City in the summer of 2016 he was already established as one of the greatest managers of his generation. His spells as manager of Barcelona and Bayern Munich had showed Guardiola’s tactical prowess and overall genius. He arrived at City with high expectations. While it took him a season to get his philosophy embedded at City. Once they were,  Pep Guardiola had created a winning machine that had never been seen before in English football.

Manchester City won their first Premier League title under Guardiola in 2017-18. They became the first side to reach the 100 point barrier in the process. That feat in itself was remarkable. From there, Pep Guardiola’s side conquered every mountain possible and won every trophy available. They became Centurions, Fourmidable, Treble winners, world champions, won four Premier League titles in a row and saw off Jurgen Klopp’s all-action Liverpool side in two epic title races. Pep Guardiola established a ruthless element to his Manchester City side. One that saw them feel that one league title or trophy was never enough. It was Pep Guardiola’s insatiable appetite for success that drove his City side. The Manchester City players followed Guardiola’s lead, and by the end of his reign as City manager, 20 major trophies had been won.

In the process of winning 20 trophies, Pep Guardiola’s influence changed English football.

It seems like a distant memory now, but in 2016, Stan Collymore felt that Pep Guardiola was deluded when Guardiola admitted that he didn’t teach tackling at training. Collymore’s observation came during Pep Guardiola’s first season as Manchester City manager when he was still embedding his philosophy into his team. A decade later, Pep Guardiola has changed English football. There is no doubt about that. That’s not delusion, that is the reality of what has unfolded over the past decade.

You look across any competition in England and teams are trying to play Pep Guardiola’s brand of football. Teams across England play out from the back. The high press that Manchester City and Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool side utilized is now commonplace. Possession-based, dominant football is prevalent throughout any tier of English football. Pep Guardiola brought this style to the Premier League and dominated it in the process. The influence of Pep Guardiola will be felt throughout English football long after his tenure as Manchester City manager has ended.

No, Pep Guardiola wasn’t deluded. He came to England as Manchester City manager and changed and dominated English football in the process. Not many managers can claim to have done this. Guardiola did so in emphatic fashion, and his team played some of the best football ever seen in the Premier League and England. This fact speaks to just how great Pep Guardiola is as a manager.

The future is bright for City and that is perhaps Pep Guardiola’s greatest achievement.

As Pep Guardiola leaves Manchester City, he leaves the club in a great position. When he arrived at the club, City had tasted success under Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini. Those two managers laid the foundation for Guardiola to build upon. The Catalan manager has built a dominant force on this foundation. City is one of the best-run clubs in European football. Guardiola’s high standards are on display at every level of the club. They always will be. Pep Guardiola’s legacy at Manchester City is everlasting, and in the decades to come, his influence will remain at the club.

As Manchester City embarks on a new era without Pep Guardiola, he has left the club in a fantastic position. City won two trophies in Guardiola’s final season as he taught City’s new-look side what is expected at Manchester City. He has established a strong team spirit this City team will call upon next season and beyond. That cannot be overlooked, and Guardiola’s teachings will carry this City side a long way.

Pep Guardiola’s legacy at Manchester City is one of dominance, success, and tactical brilliance; he has changed the game in England and at City. In his decade as City manager, Guardiola has won trophies at an unprecedented level and leaves as Manchester City’s, and likely the Premier League’s, greatest ever manager. It doesn’t feel right looking ahead to the future without Pep Guardiola involved. However, he leaves the club well placed for more success and his legacy will live forever at Manchester City. To borrow a line from Pep Guardiola himself, it has been f****** fun.