Pep Guardiola will step down as manager of Manchester City at the end of the current season, bringing an end to a transformative ten-year spell that delivered unprecedented success and reshaped English football.
The club confirmed the development on Friday, formally ending weeks of speculation over the future of the Catalan coach, who arrived in Manchester in 2016 following trophy-laden stints with Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
Guardiola leaves City as the most successful manager in the club’s history, having won 20 major trophies, including six Premier League titles and the club’s long-awaited UEFA Champions League triumph.
While he will relinquish his managerial duties, Guardiola is expected to remain within the City Football Group structure in a non-coaching capacity as Global Ambassador, supporting technical development and international football projects.
In a farewell message that blended reflection and emotion, Guardiola said his decision to leave was driven by timing rather than crisis or fatigue.
“Don’t ask me the reasons I’m leaving. There is no reason, but deep inside, I know it’s my time,” he said. “Nothing is eternal.”
He described his decade in Manchester as a journey defined by connection, struggle and shared triumph, paying tribute to the city’s identity and resilience.
“This is a city built from work. From graft,” Guardiola said. “We worked. We suffered. We fought. And we did things our own way.”
The 55-year-old also recalled personal moments that went beyond football, including the emotional support he received during the COVID-19 pandemic following the death of his mother, as well as the unity shown by the city after the Manchester Arena attack.
“Not anger. Not fear. Just love. Community. Togetherness,” he said, describing Manchester as a place that carried him through difficult times.
City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak praised Guardiola for redefining the club’s modern identity, describing his departure as a mutually agreed conclusion to an extraordinary era.
“Pep always found new energy and new ways to win,” he said, adding that the club’s evolution over the past decade would be permanently associated with the Spaniard’s leadership.
Chief executive Ferran Soriano also lauded Guardiola’s contribution, calling his tenure “a decade of sustained excellence and relentless innovation.”
He noted that sustaining success in football is more difficult than achieving it once, and credited Guardiola with setting new standards of consistency and ambition.
Under Guardiola, City became the defining force in English football, collecting six Premier League titles, three FA Cups, five League Cups, one UEFA Champions League, and multiple domestic and international honours.
His tactical approach revolutionised the English game, introducing a possession-heavy, positionally disciplined style that produced record-breaking performances, including a 100-point Premier League season in 2017/18 and a historic treble in 2022/23.
He also guided City to four consecutive Premier League titles, an unprecedented achievement in the modern era.
Guardiola will take charge of his final match as City boss against Aston Villa, ending a 593-game managerial spell that firmly places him among the greatest coaches in football history.
Beyond trophies and records, his influence extended into culture, identity and expectation at Manchester City, transforming the club into a global powerhouse.
His legacy has already been formally recognised by University of Manchester, which awarded him an honorary degree in appreciation of his contribution to the city and its sporting identity.
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