Manchester City choose Pep Guardiola replacement with agreement in place | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola is due to leave Manchester City after the final game of the 2025/26 Premier League season, with those at the Etihad Stadium already identifying his successor.

The bombshell news breaking on Monday night signals the end of one of the most dominant managerial tenures in modern English football history, and fresh off the back of Guardiola lifting his 20th trophy with Manchester City in Saturday’s FA Cup Final.

Despite consistently referring to his contract until the summer of 2027, Guardiola has reportedly finalised a decision to step down a year before his deal officially expires via a clause that permits such a move in his agreement.

Despite the ongoing distraction of the club’s alleged financial rule breaches involving the Premier League and a gruelling battle with Arsenal for the top-flight crown, the City hierarchy has moved swiftly behind the scenes over the last few weeks and months to secure continuity.

The impending departure initiates another significant summer of transition at the Etihad Stadium, with sporting director Hugo Viana already tasked with navigating the high-profile exits of modern club legends John Stones and Bernardo Silva.

Enzo Maresca to replace Pep Guardiola as Man City manager

Now, according to talkSPORT’s Alex Crook and Ben Jacobs, Enzo Maresca has already agreed to succeed Pep Guardiola as Manchester City manager, with the Catalan coach set to stand down from his position after the final game of the 2025/26 Premier League season.

It follows, as reported by The Athletic, that Maresca had informed Chelsea – twice in late October and again in mid-December – that he was talking to representatives of Manchester City about his candidacy for the role at the Etihad Stadium.

Tactical continuity or a significant risk?

Enzo Maresca’s pending arrival represents a fascinating, calculated gamble by Manchester City officials, with the 46-year-old Italian already woven into the club’s fabric having steered the club’s Under-21 side to the Premier League 2 title before serving as Pep Guardiola’s trusted first-team assistant during the historic 2022/23 Treble-winning season.

Though his departure from Stamford Bridge during the winter period – following internal friction over these very discussions – raised eyebrows, his trophy successes at Stamford Bridge in the Club World Cup and Conference League have proven his credentials.

A formal announcement of the transition will likely be delayed until the curtain falls on the Premier League season, and when Manchester City wrap up their campaign against Aston Villa.

With claims of a two-year contract plus an optional third year waiting in the wings, Enzo Maresca is poised to inherit a squad undergoing a radical face-lift, but one completely fluent in his tactical language and certainly showing immense signs of promise for the future.