Josep Guardiola has not revealed whether he knows he will be leaving Manchester City at the end of the season.
Senior officials at the Etihad Stadium are well aware that we could be in the final days of Guardiola’s life in charge, and that there is intense speculation that the 55-year-old is considering ending his managerial career in the summer, although he has not yet fully committed to it. But even they claim they don’t know for sure.
Sources close to Guardiola’s agent, SEG, the agency headed by Guardiola’s brother Pele, said anything related to the Catalan manager’s future is closely guarded and this was no exception. But rumors swirling, largely generated by chatter among rival executives, agents and players, are that he could be done soon.
Guardiola still has 16 months left on his contract, which was signed in November 2024. However, his contract has already reached a stage where no one at City would be surprised if he decided to end it a year early, in the summer of 2026.
Contract status
Over the past nine-and-a-half years, few things have troubled Guardiola more than questions about his future. Obsessed with the process of winning a soccer match, he considers any kind of outside noise to be a potential distraction.
Guardiola often tried to sign contract extensions by November of the final year and see them off early so that the second half of the season would not be affected by uncertainty. But when he signed his latest contract in November 2024, City were surprised to find it was for two years instead of one.
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There was a feeling at the time that Guardiola would sign a 12-month extension to his contract by the summer of 2026, ending his 10 years at the club. The deal ended in 2027, which caught several people at Etihad by surprise. It also raised questions about whether the extra year was at least a buffer meant to provide certainty.
Guardiola was able to hide it when asked about his future in early January.
“I have a contract,” he said. “I’ve said it a million times. I’ve been here 10 years. One day I’ll leave, but I have a contract.”
He did it again when asked a similar question during Friday’s press conference.
“I have one year left on my contract,” he said. “The question is the same as a month or two ago, and I’ll say it again that the answer is the same.”
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mood changes
It’s been 10 years since Guardiola arrived from Bayern Munich in 2016, and there was always a feeling he would leave in the summer of 2026, a feeling reinforced by the clear change in atmosphere in recent weeks.
It all started after the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final in Newcastle, when Antoine Semenyo’s goal was ruled out by VAR and Guardiola made matters worse for the referee. He doesn’t like to criticize officials after draws or losses, but after the 2-0 win at St James’ Park he felt comfortable highlighting the perceived errors in the league defeat to Newcastle six weeks ago – as well as the decision not to give goalkeeper Dean Henderson a red card in the FA Cup final defeat to Crystal Palace all the way back in May.
Guardiola once again verbally abused the referee after the 2-0 win over Wolves, but with little prompting ahead of the second leg against Newcastle he decided to speak out on a range of topics, including transfer fees for Premier League rivals Palestine, Sudan and Ukraine, and the deaths of Lennie Goode and Alex Pretty in Minnesota.
He also started saying things like, “That’s a nice word.” Not only when he knows he’s in the headlines, but also when City’s media staff are finishing a press conference, addressing reporters by name or taking unexpected follow-up questions at the end of a press conference. If he’s conscious that he might only have a few months left on this platform, he’s making the most of it.
Guardiola’s officiating war is similar to Sir Alex Ferguson’s reaction to Nani’s red card against Real Madrid in 2013, which contributed to Manchester United’s exit from the Champions League. Coach Ferguson is said to have been “distraught” after the match and even refused to give a post-match press conference. It was later revealed that he had already decided to leave Old Trafford at the end of the season and was extremely upset after what appeared to be a refereeing error deprived him of his last chance to win the Champions League.
Despite approaching 20 years as manager and 10 years at City, Guardiola has not lost his love of winning. His celebration on the touchline on Wednesday, as City reached the Carabao Cup final for the fifth time under his reign, was like that of a new manager chasing his first silver medal.
“I’m getting older too and I feel it’s more difficult to get to the finals,” he said. “I don’t want to take it for granted and I know how difficult it is.
“I’m going to live with the joy of being able to play in the finals again, because in modern sports and competitions like tennis, golf and basketball, it’s very difficult to reach the finals and win trophies. You have to sweat a lot.”
City’s future plans
City have always been relaxed about Guardiola’s future. Naturally, they want the most successful manager of all time to stick around for as long as possible, but they always knew he wasn’t the type to follow in the footsteps of Ferguson or Arsene Wenger for more than 20 years.
They often take solace in the strength of their relationship with Guardiola. This means club executives are confident they will have enough time to properly recruit a successor whenever the day comes.
Significantly, when Enzo Maresca’s relationship with Chelsea broke down in December and January, Chelsea officials were happy to reveal that Maresca, a former member of Guardiola’s backroom staff, was in talks with City. Stamford Bridge’s claims have been brought to the attention of City but, importantly, have not been formally denied.
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Uncertainty regarding the manager causes problems for clubs in the transfer market, as usually one of the first things a player wants to know is who will be the manager. However, these doubts did not prevent City from signing Semenyo and Marc Gehi in January, which the club were keen to share. The internal view was that, despite the possibility of Guardiola leaving, two of the Premier League’s top players, at the peak of their careers, had chosen to move to the Etihad despite interest from almost every big club in Europe.
Working with Guardiola is often a big draw for new players, but it was a notable change in message.
So…is it happening?
City knows it will happen sooner or later. Club bosses pride themselves on having a plan for everything and it’s no different this time around.
City believe they will be ready when Guardiola calls time on him at the end of the season. They have also dealt with the loss of a number of key players in recent days, including director of football Txiki Begiristain, chief operating officer Omar Berada and director of football transactions Raffi Mursen.
A move for Guardiola will be more difficult, but a well-placed source says it is not impossible. But that remains to be seen. After all, Manchester United are still reeling from losing their iconic manager 13 years ago.
City remain confident in the timing of his potential departure this summer, as opposed to 12 months ago. There was a view that it was too much to appoint a new manager in the summer, which was already complicated by the impact of the FIFA Club World Cup.
Guardiola has said in the past that he is not a good deliberator. He makes quick decisions based on instinct and feeling, which could sway the outcome for better or worse between now and the end of the season.
But for now, he remains silent. But that means speculation will continue until the situation changes.
