Manchester City receive hands-off warning for fan-favourite managerial candidate | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola’s departure from the Etihad Stadium at the end of the season means speculation about Manchester City’s next boss is rife for the first time in a decade.

The Catalan coach’s glittering career in Manchester is to end in a matter of days after Sunday’s Premier League match against Aston Villa, with Enzo Maresca the clear favourite for both bookies and journalists to take the role.

That has not stopped alternative theories about the next manager from popping up, and perhaps no possible choice would be more popular than a former Manchester City captain who has become a star coach in recent years.

However, Vincent Kompany‘s bosses at Bayern Munich have stated in no uncertain terms that the Belgian will not be leaving Bavaria, adding that “hopefully he’ll stay much, much longer” than his 2029 contract end.

Kompany’s Man City history

Kompany is City’s most successful captain, scoring 20 goals in 360 appearances across an 11-year spell. He lifted a quartet Premier League trophies – ending with his title-winning goal against Leicester in May 2019 – as well as the FA Cup twice, and the League Cup four times.

Taking charge of Bayern Munich in 2024, Kompany has so far comfortably won the Bundesliga in each of his two seasons and has his team – starring the likes of Harry Kane and Michael Olise – playing some of the most exciting attacking football in the world.

Therefore, it is probably no surprise that Bayern Munich have no interest in letting the 40-year-old go any time soon.

What have Bayern Munich said about Kompany’s future?

In an interview with SportBILD, the club’s president Herbert Hainer said, “We extended his contract because he’s doing an outstanding job and because we simply wanted him to stay with us longer.

“Perhaps he’ll coach Manchester City someday, since he played there before. He’s young and has many years of coaching ahead of him. But he and his family feel very comfortable in Munich.”

Bayern welcomes Man City approach for Kompany

When asked if he could imagine the Citizens making an approach for Vincent Kompany to receive Guardiola’s metaphorical torch, Hainer laughed, “They’re welcome to. With players, it’s often said: not for sale. And there’s no transfer fee for Kompany; he’s not for sale.”

Vincent Kompany remains beloved in the blue half of Manchester and the possibility of him one day taking charge at the Etihad Stadium remains an attractive prospect for many City fans, but it looks incredibly unlikely that he will return to the club next season.