Pep Guardiola reportedly plans to leave Manchester City when his current contract expires, but this isn’t the first time such claims have been made.
Albeit with 115 charges hanging over their heads, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City side have been the scourge of many a trophy hopeful this season, Arsenal included.
It may have required billions of pounds and allegations of financial impropriety as the club raised those funds, but Guardiola finally helped City to get their hands on the Champions League trophy as part of a treble in 2022/23.
The Guardian now claim Guardiola is firmly minded to leave Manchester City when his current contract expires.
The manager has reportedly “all but decided” he’ll leave in 2025, and he may look to coach an international team after that.
But as The Guardian themselves point out, this isn’t the first time we’ve heard reports like this.
The same report highlights that when Guardiola first arrived at City, there was a strong expectation he wouldn’t stay beyond 2019.
Then, just a couple of years ago, Guardiola suggested he would have a break when his contract expired in 2023.
“I think I’m going to have a stop. I’m going to have to take a break, see what we’ve done,” Guardiola said then.
“Next step will be a national team, if there is a possibility.”
On both occasions, the manager changed his mind and extended his contract.
Two years is a long time, and it’s entirely possible that in another 18 months, Guardiola will have decided he’d prefer to extend his contract once again.
Of course, the difference now is that City have won the Champions League.
That was the last trophy Guardiola still needed to win (barring the obvious Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup, which you could only win by winning the Champions League first).
Perhaps Guardiola will now feel his work at City is done, but it’s all speculation for the time being.