Mikel Arteta one of only SIX managers that have ever finished ahead of Pep Guardiola | OneFootball

Only six managers – ever – have finished ahead of a Pep Guardiola team.

Across his time as manager of Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City, Guardiola has won 12 league titles in 17 seasons. That’s ridiculous when you think about it. Alongside those 12 table-topping campaigns, the Catalan coach’s teams have finished as a runner-up three times and ended up third twice.

Here are the few special names who have managed the feat.

Jose Mourinho – Real Madrid (2011-12)

Guardiola led boyhood club Barcelona to the league title in his first three years as senior manager from 2008 to 2011; still the only side since Johan Cruyff’s Dream Team of the early 90s to top La Liga three years in a row.

Having delivered the treble at Inter, with a famous victory over Pep’s Barca in the Champions League semis, Jose Mourinho arrived at Real Madrid in 2010 with the task of knocking the Catalans off their perch.

Mourinho led Madrid to their first Clasico victory of the Guardiola era in the 2011 Copa del Rey final, but Los Blancos lost out to their eternal rivals in the league and Champions League. The cup final victory gave Mourinho’s Madrid a platform to build on, however, and in his second year in charge they won the title with a record 100-point, 121-goal haul.

Barcelona finished nine points behind, in spite of Lionel Messi registering a career-best 50 league goals. A visibly exhausted Guardiola announced his departure shortly before the end of the campaign and took a much-needed sabbatical year in New York.

The fractious rivalry with Mourinho evidently took its toll on Guardiola.

Antonio Conte – Chelsea (2016-17)

Guardiola arrived at Manchester City in the summer of 2016, fresh from delivering the Bundesliga title in each of his three seasons in charge at Bayern Munich.

City won their first six Premier League matches of the 2016-17 campaign but come the Autumn they began to falter through what was ultimately a disappointing debut campaign in charge for Guardiola – the only trophyless season of his managerial career.

It was an altogether different story for Chelsea, who had brought in a new manager that summer – Antonio Conte. Back-to-back defeats to Liverpool and Arsenal early in the season prompted the Italian to switch to a back three, and from there they never looked back, breaking the back of their title charge with an incredible run of 13 successive wins from October to December.

Conte’s Blues won the title with an impressive 91-point tally – a massive 15 ahead of Guardiola’s City.

Mauricio Pochettino – Tottenham (2016-17)

Chelsea weren’t the only side to finish ahead of City in Guardiola’s first season in charge – the 2016-17 campaign is the only time he’s ever finished outside of the top two in any league.

It was Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham who finished as runners-up, the only side that gave Chelsea a title challenge. This was the year they arguably peaked, with a record league placing and points tally in the Premier League era. The irresistible front four of Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Son Heung-min and Christian Eriksen registered a combined total of 69 goals and 35 assists that year.

Spurs ended City’s 100% winning start with an impressive and much-deserved 2-0 victory in early October and came back from two goals behind to draw 2-2 in the return fixture at the Etihad.

City finished third, eight points behind Pochettino’s side.

Jurgen Klopp – Liverpool (2019-20)

It was a long time coming for Jurgen Klopp.

The German was still in charge of Borussia Dortmund when Guardiola arrived at Bayern Munich to leave the rest of the German top flight eating their dust.

He subsequently arrived in England eight months before Guardiola, and in his first full season in charge of Liverpool led them to a fourth-place finish, one place and two points behind City.

Klopp’s Reds notched 97 points in 2018-19 – a tally that would have see them lift the title in any other season bar one – but they were pipped to the title, a point behind Guardiola’s men.

Galvanised by that near-miss, Liverpool claimed the title emphatically the following year. They unthinkably dropped just two points from the first 27 games and from there the title was a formality. They eventually finished way out in front with 99 points.

Guardiola’s runners-up were 18 points behind, though they did restore a little pride with a post-lockdown 4-0 victory over the already-crowned champions at the Etihad.

Arne Slot (2024-25)

Guardiola got City back on top after Liverpool’s title triumph under Klopp, leading the club to an unprecedented four-in-a-row – an era of dominance that also included winning the Champions League.

You wonder if Klopp regrets not sticking around for one more season, given Guardiola’s City endured an explosive drop-off in 2024-25.

With Arne Slot’s comparatively serene presence on the touchline, Liverpool breezed to their second league title of the Premier League era – and first celebrated in front of fans.

But normal service has resumed in 2025-26 with Slot’s Reds absolutely miles off City – as well as the champions. That brings us to…

Mikel Arteta (2024-25 & 2025-26)

The only man to finish ahead of Guardiola twice. Klopp never managed it. Neither did Mourinho.

The first time would’ve been scant consolation as Arsenal finished a distant second behind Liverpool, but comfortably ahead of a post-meltdown City.

This one will taste all the sweeter. No longer the bridesmaids. It won’t be 2nd four years in a row.

Guardiola looks to be waving goodbye to English football after two successive years without a league title. It’s the first time in his career that’s happened.

Lick his wounds, take a sabbatical, and go again? We’re fascinated to see what’s next for the Catalan.