Manchester City want Pep Guardiola to stay as manager but will allow 2026 summer exit | OneFootball

Manchester City still want Pep Guardiola to remain as manager into next season despite the club facing a demoralising run of recent form, as per a new report.

Despite winning six games in a row since the start of February – and at one point closing the gap to Premier League leaders Arsenal to just two points – Guardiola’s side have dropped points against Nottingham Forest and West Ham in the past two weeks. 

On Saturday night, Bernardo Silva scored after 31 minutes to secure a deserved lead against West Ham at the London Stadium, but Konstantinos Mavropanos equalised only four minutes later as the gap to Arsenal grew to nine points.

Why are there question marks over Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City future?

Not only that, the Blues also have a mountain to climb in the return leg of their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie against Real Madrid – wherein City will vie to overturn a three-goal deficit in what will be the 13th time Guardiola has faced Los Blancos in Europe during his time at the Etihad Stadium.

In their next five games, Guardiola’s pack will try to overcome Real Madrid (UEFA Champions League), Arsenal (Carabao Cup final), Liverpool (FA Cup), Chelsea (Premier League) and Arsenal (Premier League) – with each game a final for the Blues between now and the end of the season.

And if those proceedings fail, it will mark a second straight season where Guardiola has finished a campaign without lifting a trophy – which will understandably lead to doubts over his future – which has already come into question in recent months as Manchester City officials plan for life beyond their greatest-ever manager.

Indeed, Guardiola is one of the most successful managers football has ever seen and certainly the most triumphant to have coached in the dugout at the Etihad Stadium – but cracks have appeared in recent months – in the backdrop of a dismal 2024-25 campaign that Guardiola deemed the most challenging year in management.

‘Pep Guardiola will not want to leave Manchester City in transition and after a trophyless season’

Football Insider journalist Pete O’Rourke, however, believes that the 55-year-old will not want to leave on such a low as he nears a decade in east Manchester.

In a recent appearance on the Transfer Insider podcast, O’Rourke said: “I don’t think the defeat to Real Madrid and the potential early exit from the Champions League will have any immediate influence on Guardiola’s future.

“(There has been) a lot of talk that he could end up leaving at the end of the season, but obviously he won’t want to bow out with an early Champions League exit on his CV in his final season at the club.

“Man City will let Pep Guardiola make whatever decision he wants to make. It’ll be in his own hands and there won’t be any forcing him.

When will Pep Guardiola make a decision on his Manchester City future?

“If Pep wants to stand down come the end of the season after a long time in charge at City, I think it’s been over nine years now at the club, I think they’ll go along with his wishes in that respect.

“They would love to keep him but if he feels it is the right time to move on, then the club will reluctantly choose to accept it.

“I think if he’s going to make that decision, he probably has made it already. I don’t think results between now and the end of the season will have any major influence on that decision.”

Guardiola is under contract at the Etihad Stadium till 2027 but there have been consistent reports suggesting City officials are progressing their pursuit for a potent replacement in case the Catalan decides to move on this summer. At present, it is understood that no decision has been made by the City manager.