Pep Guardiola’s message to incoming Manchester City manager as Enzo Maresca announcement looms | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola has urged the incoming Manchester City manager to be themselves and promising to call them personally once the appointment is confirmed.

Guardiola spoke on the subject in his pre-match press conference, in conversation with Sky Sports after the 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa, and again in his post-match press conference — with his advice consistent across all three: trust yourself, and trust the club.

Enzo Maresca has been widely reported as the man set to take over at the Etihad Stadium on an initial three-year deal, with Chelsea understood to be seeking sizeable compensation from City for the Italian’s departure from Stamford Bridge.

Guardiola: Be themselves – unique

Asked in his pre-match press conference what message he had for his successor, Guardiola kept it to two sentences.

“Any message? Be themselves. The manager has to be himself. Unique. And the club will be there supporting him unconditionally, like they have done to me, we will do it to him, and to his staff.”

The emphasis on unconditional support is a deliberate and generous one. Guardiola knows better than anyone the value of a club that backs its manager in the difficult moments – and his use of “we will do it to him” rather than “they will do it to him” is telling, suggesting a continued personal investment in the club’s wellbeing even after his departure.

Guardiola: Hugo has been one of the most beautiful things I’ve met this year

Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, Guardiola expanded on his belief in the structure the new manager will inherit – and offered his warmest public assessment yet of director of football Hugo Viana.

“The next Man City manager has to be themselves, that’s most important. The new manager, for the way they communicate, treat people, the way they’re going to play, work – they have to be them!” he said.

“And this club is really, really good in many things, and the transitions always they do really, really, really well!

“Look at Txiki, he has been one of the most important persons and he chose or suggested Hugo, and Hugo in this year has been one of the most surprising and beautiful things I’ve met! It will be good!”

The tribute to Viana is significant. Guardiola has spoken warmly of the Portuguese director throughout the season but this is his most glowing endorsement yet, describing him as “one of the most surprising and beautiful things” he has encountered across his entire final year at the club.

For an incoming manager stepping into the biggest job in English football, the knowledge that Guardiola rates the infrastructure around him so highly will be enormously reassuring.

Guardiola: I will call him and tell him to be free in your ideas

In his post-match press conference, Guardiola went a step further, committing to a personal phone call to the new manager once the appointment is made official.

“When the club will tell me which one it is, of course I will call him! And I will tell him, ‘Be yourself, the club will support you unconditionally, that is the biggest compliment, and be yourself.

“‘You will be protected in the bad moments, more than any other club, and be free in your ideas, go there, work a lot, and everything will be fine!'”

The promise to call his successor personally is the most human detail of all – a manager who has given ten years to a club refusing to simply walk away and leave the next man to figure it out alone.

The message of freedom, protection and unconditional support reflects everything Guardiola has experienced at Manchester City since 2016 – and everything he clearly wants the next chapter to be built upon.