Six new permanent tributes, mosaics, statues confirmed and unveiled by Manchester City | OneFootball

Following the conclusion of the 2025/26 season, and the end of the Pep Guardiola era, a fresh release of permanent tributes, mosaics, and statues have been unveiled by Manchester City.

Coming just days after an unforgettable open-top bus parade and a sold-out arena farewell at the Co-op Live, the individuals who engineered a full decade of unprecedented footballing dominance have been immortalised at the club.

With incoming manager Enzo Maresca and Sporting Director Hugo Viana beginning their transition work at the City Football Academy, the permanent physical monuments establish a clear bridge between a legendary past and highly anticipated future.

The extensive legacy roll-out reflects Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak’s long-standing policy of embedding modern club history directly into the architecture of the Etihad Stadium and the wider campus.

City reached the end of a dramatic 2025/26 campaign with a domestic double in the FA Cup and Carabao Cup, but ultimately yielded a tight Premier League title race to Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal.

Six new tributes at Man City unveiled for club legends

Starting off with the latest set of mosaics unveiled at the club’s City Football Academy training centre, Manchester City have commissioned and finalised lasting tributes to all of Bernardo Silva, John Stones, Ederson, and Ilkay Gundogan.

The latter duo made their return from Turkey this week to be formally presented with the gifts, having left for Fenerbahce and Galatasaray respectively during the last summer transfer window.

But the most prominent tributes have come for the club’s greatest-ever manager, as the Etihad Stadium’s newly-refurbished and expanded North Stand has been renamed ‘The Pep Guardiola Stand’.

And the Catalan coach will also receive a statue in his honour, to be placed in front of his new stand at Manchester City’s home stadium, the club have confirmed.

The story behind the tributes

Designed and crafted by acclaimed local artist and lifelong supporter Mark Kennedy, the custom installations feature specific, iconic imagery from each player’s respective tenure – such as John Stones’ miraculous goal-line clearance against Liverpool in 2019.

The presence of Ederson and Gundogan at the training ground provided a highly emotional reunion for the remaining squad members, offering the dressing room a moment of closure following their low-key departures to the Süper Lig last year.

Looking forward, the physical transformation of the Etihad Stadium infrastructure will serve as the permanent benchmark for the club’s future competitive ambitions. The newly rebranded Pep Guardiola Stand – which features a newly constructed top tier adding over 7,000 extra seats – will be fully occupied by match-going fans from the start of the 2026/27 campaign.

By permanently embedding Guardiola’s name and likeness into the stadium’s skyline alongside iconic figures like Vincent Kompany, Sergio Agüero, and David Silva, the hierarchy has ensured the Catalan’s standards will forever look over the next generation.