After ten years, sixteen trophies and a complete reimagining of what English football could look like, Pep Guardiola is walking away from Manchester City. It is not a shock — the signs have been pointing this way for months — but the confirmation still lands with a certain weight. When the final whistle blows on City's last match of the season against Aston Villa on Sunday, Guardiola will leave the Etihad as one of the greatest managers this country has ever seen.
And waiting in the wings is Enzo Maresca, who has agreed a three-year contract to take charge at the Etihad. Fabrizio Romano confirmed the deal on Thursday morning. Maresca, 44, served as one of Guardiola's assistants during the treble-winning 2022-23 campaign before moving on to manage Leicester and then Chelsea, where he was dismissed on New Year's Day following conversations with the Manchester City hierarchy over taking over from Guardiola. The Italian's appointment is a deliberate, considered choice — a man schooled in the City system, now tasked with keeping the machine running without the man who built it.
What Guardiola Leaves Behind
The numbers alone do not tell the story, but they are worth saying out loud. Six Premier League titles. Two FA Cups. Four League Cups. And in 2023, the Champions League — the trophy that had eluded the club for their entire history. Guardiola arrived in 2016 with a reputation built in Barcelona and Munich, and he exceeded every expectation. He changed transfer strategy, changed the culture, changed how City's academy thought about developing players. The club was already wealthy when he arrived. He made them credible.
The Pressure on Maresca
Taking over from a legend is one of football's most thankless jobs, and Maresca will know that better than most. The squad he inherits is ageing in places — Guardiola's contract situation forced some difficult planning gaps — and the club is simultaneously navigating a rebuilding phase. The first transfer window will tell us a lot about how much authority Maresca has been given. He spoke before his Chelsea sacking about wanting full control of recruitment decisions. Whether City's ownership grants him that at the Etihad remains to be seen.
Guardiola's Next Move
Guardiola himself has said he wants time away from football before considering another role. He mentioned the Brazil national team in passing some months ago, and the Spanish federation has not hidden its admiration for him, but nothing is concrete. The one thing most people in the game agree on is that he will return — managers of his quality rarely stay away for long. For now, though, the focus belongs to Sunday and the chance to say a proper goodbye to a fanbase that has followed him through the most successful decade in the club's history.
Context: Guardiola joined Man City in June 2016 on a three-year deal, later extended multiple times. He departs with 16 trophies. Enzo Maresca, formerly of Leicester and Chelsea, has signed a three-year deal as successor. City's final league game vs Aston Villa is Sunday, May 24.
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