Vincent Kompany reveals stance on replacing Pep Guardiola at Manchester City in 2027 | OneFootball

Vincent Kompany has revealed his stance on suggestions that he could take over from Pep Guardiola at Manchester City when the 54-year-old departs the club.

After penning a fresh two-year deal at the Etihad Stadium in the fall of 2024, Guardiola is expected to honour the remainder of his current Manchester City deal – which is due to expire at the end of the 2026-27 season.

However, changes have ensued behind the scenes at the Etihad Stadium following the appointment of Hugo Viana as City’s director of football this summer, including a shake-up of Guardiola’s first-team squad in the backdrop of a dismal 2024-25 season.

City are at a nascent stage of their transition under Viana and there is uncertainty over where Guardiola sees his future in England, having entered his 10th season at the Etihad Stadium despite initially holding an outlook of spending four to five years in Manchester.

It is thought that officials from the Abu-Dhabi-owned outfit are already evaluating potential candidates to take over from Guardiola, who has won 18 trophies since joining the club in 2016. The 54-year-old has collected six Premier League titles, two FA Cups and four League Cup winner’s medals. 

Though potential candidates mentioned so far to succeed Guardiola in England are Roberto De Zerbi and Andoni Iraola, former captain and club legend Vincent Kompany – who made 360 appearances throughout an 11-year tenure – has also been heavily linked with the Manchester City managerial job.

It is believed that Guardiola – who has previously managed Bayern Munich – encouraged Allianz Arena executives to appoint Kompany in the summer of 2024 owing to his outstanding leadership ability, largely down to the role he had as captain at the Etihad Stadium since 2008.

Having made a blistering start to the 2025-26 season with Bayern Munich, Kompany has played down talk of a possible return to Manchester City in the future, stating that he “can’t think that far ahead” and that his focus “is on Bayern Munich and what we can achieve now”.

“I like to live in the world in front of me right now – that takes up all my time. I have zero thoughts about other teams – I only see FC Bayern,” the 39-year-old said, as quoted by Bulinews.

As impossible as it is to replace Guardiola, Kompany has slowly emerged as a potent successor to the legendary Catalan due to the similarities in their possession-based, attacking-minded football – with a demand for intense commitment to a clear and shared tactical vision. 

In a move that would resonate more than any other appointment in modern-day management, the former Burnley boss is the ultimate student of Guardiola’s philosophy, having played under the Catalan for three years before leaving Manchester City in 2019.

Kompany’s managerial journey – from the EFL Championship to the German top-flight – shows genuine growth, a talent of coaching that seems to come naturally with those associated at the highest levels of football. He also has a proven ability to build discipline and confidence within a club.

For City fans, Kompany represents the soul of the Premier League side’s golden era where the majority of their success came after the 2008 acquisition of the club, led by Sheikh Mansour. As a result, this comes with backing that no external candidate could match. 

The 39-year-old still has plenty to learn in management but he is maturing perfectly alongside the eventual need for a new challenge, which could perhaps come in England should the club believe his philosophy aligns with their ambitions for the future.