Manchester City insiders react to Pep Guardiola exit update and Enzo Maresca links | OneFootball

Sources at the Etihad Stadium have reacted to David Ornstein’s bumper story on Pep Guardiola potentially leaving Manchester City at the end of the season.

Guardiola signed a two-year deal in November 2024 that will keep him in Manchester till the end of the 2026-27 season, committing his future to the club in the midst of what he has since admitted was his most challenging campaign in England.

The 54-year-old has built a winning dynasty in Manchester and furthered the modern-day disparity in footballing standards between City and rivals Manchester United, who have gone one step forward, two steps back since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2012.

There has been whispers around Guardiola’s future at the Etihad Stadium since he signed his latest contract, pertaining to his possibility of the 2025-26 campaign being his last in Manchester owing to his desire of taking a break from the demands of management.

The Catalan has himself previously attested to a feeling of pleasant surprise over the length of time he has spent at City, whom he joined in 2016 after replacing Manuel Pellegrini but did not expect to work with for more than three or four seasons by his own admission.

City have dominated English football under Guardiola, who has broken every record in the book with several title-winning sides during his decorated tenure at the Etihad Stadium, most notably winning his first Premier League title in 2018 with 100 points, leading the Blues to a domestic treble in the season that followed and a historic treble in 2023.

Hugo Viana replaced Manchester City’s long-serving director of football Txiki Begiristain in the summer and the Portuguese is already planning for life beyond Guardiola, who could leave the Blues at the end of the 2025-26 season, as confirmed in a report published by David Ornstein of The Athletic this week.

Executives at the Etihad Stadium have identified Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca as a strong contender to replace Guardiola, having worked as Manchester City U21 coach previously and served as a first-team coach under the Catalan.

Ben Jacobs has reported in the aftermath of Ornstein’s update that Manchester City have refused to be drawn in on speculation, noting that Guardiola is under contract at the Etihad Stadium for another season-and-a-half.

Sources at Chelsea have also refused to comment on the development, with Maresca’s current deal in west London also running till the end of the 2028-29 season – with an option to extend by 12 months.

City will be working behind the scenes to draw up a shortlist of potent candidates to take over from Guardiola at some point – a major task on Viana’s hands still fairly early into his arrival in England.

A firm decision on Guardiola’s future, if there is one to be made this season, will not come before the closing stages of the season, but Viana and co will want to be prepared when the Catalan makes his mind up and relays his stance on his future to the Manchester City board come the summer of 2026.