Pep Guardiola is furious that news of his Manchester City exit has leaked to the press, ahead of his team’s vital Premier League clash with AFC Bournemouth.
As Arsenal were grinding out a win against Burnley to put themselves one result away from the Premier League title, Oliver Holt broke the news for the Daily Mail that Pep Guardiola will leave Manchester City at the end of this season.
The report added that it’s expected the news will be officially confirmed on Sunday, but David Ornstein and Sam Lee quickly added their own unofficial confirmation for The Athletic, reporting that Enzo Maresca is expected to take over from Guardiola this summer.
Fabrizio Romano has since confirmed that Maresca has a complete agreement with City to replace Guardiola, having previously worked as the Spaniard’s assistant.
Yet Guardiola is reportedly not happy that the news has leaked to the media. Paul Sims reports for The S*n that the manager is ‘furious’ at the timing of the leak, just before City’s game against Bournemouth.
Guardiola reportedly held a late night group call with the players and confirmed the reports, apologising for the way the new emerged. The players had been told at the weekend that the manager wasn’t leaving, so the u-turn left them in shock.
To underline the importance of Tuesday night’s game, City must win if they want to stay alive in the Premier League title race. Even just a draw would officially hand the title to Arsenal, so they cannot afford to slip up.
But City fans will hope that Guardiola’s departure will provide motivation to the team to go out and win their last two games, putting pressure on Arsenal to secure a final-day win away to Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park this weekend.
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