Manchester City Poised for Shock Managerial Decision Announcement on Sunday?

Pep Guardiola is reportedly unlikely to continue as Manchester City’s manager next season.

According to the Daily Mail, an early departure for Guardiola from the English top club at the end of the current campaign is a decided matter.

Consequently, City is said to have already begun informing its sponsors that the decision will be officially communicated in the near future. Within Guardiola’s circle, it is an open secret that the Spaniard will be leaving the Sky Blues this summer after ten years, foregoing the remainder of his contract, which was originally set to run until 2027.

The Daily Mail reports that City plans to announce the parting ways with Guardiola around the concluding Premier League match of this season, which is to be played at home against Aston Villa on Sunday. It’s possible that Guardiola’s team could still secure a domestic treble: they have already won the EFL Cup and the FA Cup, and the league title could still be theirs. This would require victories against Bournemouth on Tuesday, and five days later against Villa, along with a slip-up from league leaders FC Arsenal on the final matchday against Crystal Palace.

What will Pep Guardiola do after leaving Manchester City?

Guardiola had extended his contract in November 2024 until the summer of 2027, following earlier speculation about a potential departure for the former Bayern coach. Now, the 55-year-old will apparently conclude his time in Manchester after this season, where his era began in 2016. Among his achievements, he led City to six English league titles and, in 2023, the long-awaited triumph in the Champions League.

For the period after City, Guardiola had already announced last year that he intended to take a break from coaching. Nevertheless, at the end of April, there was speculation about whether Guardiola might take over the currently vacant position of Italian national team coach, especially after their recent failure to qualify for the World Cup.

Manchester City: Will Enzo Maresca succeed Pep Guardiola?

The Daily Mail primarily puts forward Enzo Maresca as a potential successor to Guardiola at City. The Italian is familiar with the club, having coached the U23 team in 2020/21 and served as Guardiola’s assistant coach for the first team in 2022/23. Maresca has been without a coaching job since leaving FC Chelsea earlier this year, making him available.

As another option, the Daily Mail mentions Bayern Munich’s successful coach, Vincent Kompany. The Belgian famously has a long history as a player with City (from 2008 to 2019), making speculation about a potential coaching role there unsurprising. However, Manchester is unlikely to have realistic chances of signing Kompany; after all, the 40-year-old extended his contract in Munich prematurely until 2029 in October of last year and still has great ambitions with FCB.

Manchester City under Pep Guardiola: Performance in Premier League and Champions League