“Out of this world!” – Portuguese coach tipped to replace Pep Guardiola at Manchester City | OneFootball

A Brazilian commentator believes a Portuguese coach should be a frontrunner for the Manchester City job in the years to come amid question marks over the long-term prospects of Pep Guardiola at the Etihad Stadium.

As Guardiola has gotten further into his Manchester City tenure in recent seasons, there has been increasing speculation over how long the Catalan can keep going – as he approaches the 10-year mark in England.

Guardiola’s current Manchester City deal runs until 2027 and if he were to see it out, it would take his spell in north-west England to 11 years at the helm. It is looking likely, however, that the expiration of his current deal will mark the end of a historic chapter for the club.

Many candidates have been hypothesised as Guardiola’s successor – most recently former Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany – who this week signed a long-term contract extension at Bayern Munich until 2029 – leaving City supporters none the wiser as to who will take the hot seat at their club next.

One name that has, however, been mentioned in the media in recent weeks is Portuguese manager Abel Ferreira, who is held in incredibly high regard following his success at his current club Palmeiras.

In an interview with ESPN Brasil, Brazilian commentator José Ferreira Neto gave the Portuguese coach his plaudits and touted the Palmeiras manager as the ideal candidate to take over from Guardiola at the Etihad Stadium.

“Abel Ferreira is out of this world,” Neto said, as quoted by CNN Portugal and relayed by Sport Witness. “He (Ferreira) is the greatest coach I have seen in my career as a presenter and commentator.

“As a player, there are others. It’s impressive what he (Ferreira) does with Palmeiras and the players. All of Palmeiras’ goals are worked for. The truth? Abel Ferreira should be at Manchester City, Liverpool, Benfica or FC Porto.

“That will be his (Ferreira’s) path from Palmeiras. That is, if he doesn’t become the coach of a World Cup team. He is very good.”

The 46-year-old manager was heavily linked with the Nottingham Forest managerial job following the brutal sacking of Ange Postecoglou after his failure to win a single game after his 39 days in charge were brought to an unceremonious end by a 0-3 defeat to Chelsea last week.

Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis, however, elected to bring in Sean Dyche, leaving Palmeiras relieved and reportedly scrambling to tie their head coach down to a new deal, perhaps due to the previous interest.

Palmeiras are clearly huge admirers of Ferreira, who took charge of the Brazilian side in November 2020. Since his appointment, the club have won two league titles, two Copa Libertadores titles as well as the Copa do Brasil, Supercopa do Brasil, Recopa Sudamericana and three Campeonato Paulista titles.