Ex-Bayern comrade admits ‘something’s wrong’ with Guardiola amid Man City exit reports | OneFootball

A former Bayern Munich comrade of Pep Guardiola claims “something’s wrong” with the Spaniard amid reports claiming he could quit Manchester City at the end of the season.

The Citizens won the first major trophy of the season on Sunday as they beat Arsenal 2-0 in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley with Nico O’Reilly scoring a brace to give Guardiola yet another piece of silverware.

Guardiola has now won 19 trophies in his decade-long stint at the Etihad and recently laughed off suggestions he would quit at the end of the season instead of seeing out his contract, which has a year left to run.

He said in a press conference: “Oh, everybody wants to fire me, right. Oh my god, guys. One day I will come here and say, ‘bye bye, guys’.

“I’m here, one more year of contract.”

But former Bayern Munich sporting director, Matthias Sammer, who worked with Guardiola at the Allianz Arena believes all is not well with the legendary manager.

“Well, first of all, I was very happy for him. We worked together wonderfully for three years; it was very, very good,” Sammer said on Sky Germany’s Sammer and Basile – the Hagedorn Talk.

“I think I understood him quite well with his facial expressions, his gestures, his eyes, and his way of speaking. My gut feeling tells me something’s wrong when I look at his face.

“When I see your eyes, when I see your face, and in other ways too, you really don’t need to explain to clueless people what you are and who you are, and that you can’t always win. I would advise him to take a deep breath.”

Sammer’s entirely vibe-based take comes on the back of a report from Spain claiming Guardiola has already ‘confirmed’ his exit to the Manchester City players.

Guardiola ‘has already taken a significant step in the dressing room by informing his players’ of his decision and it is ‘not a response to results or external pressure in recent months, but rather a personal matter’.

The report adds: ‘Guardiola has been at the helm of highly demanding projects for years and believes the time has come to close a chapter that has been as successful as it has been intense. The accumulated strain is beginning to take its toll, and the manager wants a change of pace, at least for a reasonable period.’

Guardiola has apparently chosen ‘his next destination’ as Barcelona, the city, and not the football club as he looks to take advantage of some quiet time.

Fabrizio Romano revealed earlier this month that Enzo Maresca is the man identified to replace Guardiola when the Spaniard decides to call it a day at Man City.

Romano said on his YouTube channel: “Manchester City as a club are waiting for Pep Guardiola to decide. At the moment, according to my information, the situation is still open. Pep has one more year of his contract, so if he says nothing he will be Man City manager next season. Eventually if Pep decides to leave between now and the end of the season, the name already identified by Manchester City to become the next manager at some point remains, according to my information, Enzo Maresca.

“Maresca has not had so far any sort of contact with Tottenham or Manchester United. Those close to the former Chelsea manager are aware of the situation and interest from Manchester City.

“Manchester City are just preparing for when it’s time to say goodbye to Pep Guardiola and it’s for Pep to decide and he has not made any decision yet.”