Trusted source drops stunning and ‘logical’ Guardiola exit claim with big hint at Man City successor | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola could very feasibly quit as Manchester City manager at the end of the current season, a trusted source has revealed, and with the man himself already having offered a strong indication of his personal successor in the Etihad hotseat.

The 54-year-old is regarded as one of modern football’s revolutionaries and has transformed Manchester City into serial trophy winners during his time in the north-west. Having been first announced as City manager in February 2016 – moving later that summer from Bayern Munich – the Cityzens have won a staggering 15 major honours under his tenure, including the Champions League and unprecedented four successive Premier League crowns.

Sunday’s win over Liverpool at the Etihad was Guardiola‘s 1000th in senior management, a record that has seen him rack up a staggering 716 wins and suffer just 128 losses – underlining his remarkable longevity and success.

Guardiola’s current deal runs to summer 2027, which was signed in November of last year, and while he has a history of fulfilling his contracts, The Times’ Manchester City correspondent, Paul Hirst, has suggested an exit at the end of this season – his 10th at the helm – ‘could well be on the cards’.

And while he stresses ‘a final decision has not been made’, he says those ‘with knowledge of the situation’ feel it would be seen as ‘logical time to leave’ because the ‘squad is settled’, Guardiola has ‘won everything there is to win’ and ’10 years is one heck of a shift’.

Hirst goes on to justify the possibility of Guardiola walking off into the sunset at the culmination of the 2025/26 campaign by explaining how, prior to his arrival at City, his longest spell in charge of a side amounted to just four years – that in his first job with Barcelona.

Guardiola exit hint dropped as potential successor is named

Hirst isn’t the first to suggest the end of the current campaign could mark a City departure for Guardiola, a man who has not just taken the club under his wing but who has also lived and breathed the culture of the city during the side’s most successful era in their history.

Indeed, just last month, one of City’s performance analysts, Carles Planchart, claimed Guardiola could well walk away and consider a new direction at the season’s end.

“It’s a personal decision he’ll have to make. I think a project should last five or six years, no more,” Planchart said.

“But not for him, for everyone. Afterwards, you have to regenerate. As a friend, I would tell him to look for a new project because he still has a long way to go.

“This is why he’s been at City for so many years: they’ve treated us like family, they’ve let us work as if we were at home. He didn’t feel that way at Barca or Bayern.

“He’s a football fanatic. His life is on the green, on the grass. He’s a genius, a creator. His greatest strength is how he invents football. The difficult thing in this life is creating; the rest of us are copycats. He’s number one at this.”

Whether these prophecies come true or not, it seems Guardiola has already made clear the man he sees as a logical successor to him in the City hotseat – and it could see a familiar face, in Vincent Kompany, returning to the club after a successful spell overseas.

In March 2023, Guardiola said of the Belgian: “I am delighted for his success in Burnley.

“He will be back sooner or later. His destiny to be manager of City is already written in the stars. It’s going to happen. I don’t know when, but it’s going to happen.”

Despite that, Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola has already been cited as the favourite for the job, while Marseille coach Roberto De Zerbi is another who seems to have Guardiola’s personal respect.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, who learned his craft as Guardiola’s assistant boss, will also inevitably be linked, though the prospects of luring him from north London look faint amid the pending spell of success which he has been building the Gunners up for.

Man City latest: Shock raid on Arsenal touted; pundits debate title race

A seventh Premier League title would be a fitting way for Guardiola to bow out next summer, and now Jamie Carragher, Gary Lineker and Michael Owen have all discussed the Premier League title race after City closed the gap on leaders Arsenal at the weekend.

On the transfer front, City are planning to raid Arsenal for Ben White, according to a transfer journalist, who has revealed the defender’s stance on leaving the Emirates Stadium and having also revealed why the Cityzens are keen on him.

Fresh reports have also rebooted our story from last month that City are among the sides strongly considering a move for Kobbie Mainoo, while also linking Guardiola with a shock raid on Liverpool for one of their best players.