Guardiola confirms – Pep Guardiola has officially confirmed he will end his decade in charge of Manchester City this weekend, insisting there is “no reason” for his departure other than knowing “deep inside that it’s my time.” After winning 17 major trophies at the Etihad Stadium—
Pep Guardiola walked through his final moment at the Etihad with the kind of calm that usually comes only when a decision has already hardened. In the video City posted. the Catalan turned the camera toward himself and toward the job he is finishing—then. almost as an afterthought. toward what comes next.
“When I arrived, my first video was with Noel Gallagher,” Guardiola said, before remembering what it felt like to step into the club’s orbit. “I walk out thinking, ‘oh, Noel is here, this will be fun’.”
He then addressed the question that has followed him all season. the talk about what was coming after ten years and after a trophy-laden stay that still isn’t quite finished. Guardiola insisted there was “no reason” for his exit “other than that he knew deep inside that it’s my time.” He paired the line with a blunt truth about impermanence: “Nothing is eternal. If it was, it would be here.”.
Manchester City confirmed the news on X. tying it to the weekend’s football reality: Guardiola’s era at the club now ends after City secured the FA Cup with victory over Chelsea. It was another major success at the Etihad Stadium—yet it also came with that familiar sting of near-misses. because he will be leaving without adding a seventh Premier League crown.
The Premier League door closes on a coach who has spent a decade mastering it. Guardiola has lifted 17 major trophies with City during his time in charge. and he leaves behind a record that reads like a benchmark for modern English football. In 2019, he masterminded a domestic Treble. Four years later. he became only the second coach of an English team to complete the league. FA Cup and Champions League Treble four years later.
For all the numbers and trophies, Guardiola’s message landed most powerfully when he talked about people. He praised the club for “carrying” him through the death of his mum during Covid-19. He thanked his family and his wife, Cristina Serra, for their support.
“The fans, the staff, the people of Manchester… you gave me strength when I needed it most,” he said. He also named “Cris, my kids, my whole family,” and added, “Khaldoon, you were there too.”
City’s chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak matched the tone—part gratitude. part closure—saying that “honesty and trust have formed the bedrock” of the relationship over the last ten years. He framed Guardiola’s departure as the “right answer. ” stating. “Today the right answer is for Pep to finish his journey as the Manager of Manchester City.”.
Mubarak also pointed to the moments where a less determined manager might have stopped. “There have been points along the way when he could have stopped, and it would have been enough. Somehow. Pep always found new energy and pushed on. ” he said. adding that Guardiola’s approach has not only made City successful but “made football better.”.
The club’s leadership echoed the idea of legacy being bigger than a trophy cabinet. City’s Chief Executive Officer Ferran Soriano said City had been “privileged to work alongside Pep Guardiola for ten years. ” and described the move as both professional and personal: “his companionship. his friendship and humanity.” Soriano said historians of the future will assess the full impact of Guardiola’s work. while insisting that the club believes his “high standards” will be a reference for future players and managers.
The handover is already shaping the immediate next chapter. Enzo Maresca—described in the build-up as the expected successor—has been positioned as the next man in the job, with City preparing for how the tactical and cultural shift will happen.
The club’s own football architecture is also being nudged to fit the transition. Director of football Hugo Viana informally spoke to Maresca about taking over, with the Italian then leaving Chelsea. City are understood to have held discussions with a Spanish manager as well. It remains to be seen how many of City’s backroom staff stay.
One staff link is already clear: City have offered assistant Pep Lijnders a new contract in a move aimed at supporting any transitional period if he accepts.
Not every member of Guardiola’s team will be continuing. Fitness coach Lorenzo Buenaventura and goalkeeping coach Xabi Mancisidor are confirmed to be leaving. Mancisidor has been a stalwart since Manuel Pellegrini’s reign.
City are also exploring long-term support in a different form, looking at the possibility of hiring Guardiola’s right-hand man, Manel Estiarte, on a part-time consultancy basis next season.
While the football staff picture clarifies the practical details, the public tributes are already in motion—because Guardiola’s relationship with this club has always been more visible than most. City have organized a parade to celebrate the men’s and women’s teams on Monday.
That will be followed by an after-party event at the Co-op Live arena next to the Etihad, marking the departures of the departing stars and Guardiola.
There is also a matchday timeline in the background. City have opened their plans around Guardiola’s final moment in front of the home crowd: an additional 7. 000 seats will be open behind one goal for his final match of a decade-long reign against Aston Villa on Sunday. City regularly kick toward the north side of the ground in second halves. and that north expansion is now being tied directly to his legacy.
Manchester City have announced that the Etihad Stadium’s North Stand expansion will be named after Pep Guardiola. The manager will also be immortalized with a statue. The statue will be commissioned on Joe Mercer Way and will be placed alongside club legends Colin Bell. Mike Summerbee. Francis Lee. Vincent Kompany. David Silva and Sergio Aguero. Kevin De Bruyne is also being immortalised.
Sheikh Mansour spoke for the wider City family in explaining the symbolism. “For ten years Pep has been the personification of that ambition. ” he said. adding that Guardiola has “made an indelible imprint on the DNA of the club.” Mansour said the gratitude belongs not only to City officials but to the entire City family. “a family of which he will always be part.”.
Khaldoon Al Mubarak added that the “Pep Guardiola Stand” and the statue outside it will keep his legacy “forever woven into the fabric of this football club. the city of Manchester and English football.” He called the relationship with fans something “earned through the honesty and passion” of ten seasons fighting for success.
For Guardiola, the final words were as tight and human as they were theatrical. He referenced music and returned to the shared language of the club’s nights and celebrations. “So as my time comes to an end, be happy,” he said, before adding, “Oasis are back again.”
He thanked those who trusted him—“Thank you for trusting me. Thank you for pushing me. Thank you for loving me”—then brought in Tony Walsh’s poem line about place: “this is the place.” Guardiola replied, “I’m sorry, Tony: this is my place.”
He ended with a line that underlined the feeling of a goodbye rather than a break. “Noel…I was right. It has been so f****** fun. Love you all.”
There is a practical future now unfolding at the Etihad: Maresca is expected to take over. City are managing staffing uncertainty. and the club is framing Guardiola’s departure with public ceremonies and permanent landmarks. But in the moment—before the next manager walks in. before the next tactical identity is drawn—the last detail that remains is Guardiola’s insistence that this is simply “my time.”.
Pep Guardiola Manchester City Enzo Maresca Premier League FA Cup Chelsea Aston Villa Khaldoon Al Mubarak Ferran Soriano Etihad Stadium Pep Guardiola statue Pep Guardiola Stand