Guardiola fends off speculation on his Manchester City future after a decade at the helm

One of the most prominent storylines as the 2025/26 English Premier League season creeps towards conclusion is whether Arsenal can finally snap a league drought that stretches more than two decades. The Gunners appear to be well on their way to clinching their maiden domestic league title since success all the way back in 2004.

Another dominant storyline in the soccer community centres around Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola and his future at the club. Just as there was speculation two years ago, when the Spaniard had a few months left on his contract, reports of a departure at the end of this season are once again rife. This despite Guardiola’s current City contract only set to expire in mid-2027.

Imminent departure?

Nevertheless, reports emanating from England are that City and Guardiola only agreed to a two-year extension in November 2024 because the parties did not want similar speculation about his future midway through his 10th year at the helm of the Manchester club.

If that is indeed the case, that strategy has not worked well as rumours of an imminent exit by Guardiola at the end of the current season swirl just as they did before he penned his current deal.

This is because in soccer, the lifespan of a manager at a single club is extremely short. Two years is a long time for a head coach at any one team, especially an institution with demands as high as those of City’s Emirati hierarchy.

With 10 years in Manchester under his belt after joining in 2016, Guardiola is one of the longest-serving managers in Europe’s top five leagues (Premier League, LaLiga, Bundesliga, Serie A and Ligue 1).

Only Frank Schmidt, who currently heads relegation-threatened German top-flight club Heidenheim (18 years in charge) and Atlético Madrid boss Diego Simeone (with 14 years) have been in charge of a single club longer than Guardiola in the context of Europe’s aforementioned super leagues.

Familiarity breeds fatigue

One of Guardiola’s favourite fellow managers, Jürgen Klopp, departed Liverpool after nine years at the wheel in 2024. The German tactician cited fatigue from being in the same place for so long as the primary reason for his Merseyside departure. Just as City’s owners would probably never sack Guardiola, Klopp said he left because he knew that Liverpool’s bosses would not show him the door.

“I have to make the decision at one point, because nobody else will, because of the trust and respect we have for each other. And the owners knew I would take the decision,” said Klopp.

“It’s a decision I made independent of any kind of results. A big one is the potential of the team. I see it is a really good basis, not more. We are not better than other teams or whatever, but we have a good basis to work with and that’s really important. That’s why it is a good moment to give it to someone else,” the German added.

“What we all learned and improved and did in the last few years, changing from doubters to believers and staying believing in difficult moments… If we keep all that, then it is a wonderful future ahead. That is all I want, and I don’t want to be the passenger who is disturbing that process.”

In his 10 years in charge, Guardiola has constantly reinvigorated City’s squad, with the help of the team’s large purse. Even this season he has steadily done that. Players he previously relied on, such as Kevin de Bruyne, Kyle Walker and goalkeeper Ederson have departed.

The club has in recent times recruited the next generation of City stars. From Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, to exciting in-field players such as Rayan Cherki and Antoine Semenyo, as well as highly rated English defender Marc Guéhi. Guardiola’s close friend Txiki Begiristain also left City in 2025, after serving as the club’s director of football for more than a decade.

Whether, like Klopp, Guardiola is now building a team for his successor at the end of the season remains an unanswered question. Although, according to the Spanish tactician, he is going nowhere.

“Oh my God! I have a contract. I’ve said it a thousand million times. I know you are bored of me, 10 years here. You want [me to leave]? Yes. I’m pretty sure of that,” Guardiola told journalists at the beginning of 2026.

The mythical manager

Guardiola etched his name deeply into soccer history by building one of the greatest and most aesthetically pleasing sports teams when he was in charge of Barcelona between 2008 and 2012. Guardiola’s Blaugrana team was highly successful as it won numerous titles, including two European Champions League trophies.

So dominant was his Barcelona team that it even clinched a sextuple of trophies in 2009 by claiming every trophy possible.

He added to his legacy by taking his tiki-taka, possession-based style to Germany as he took over Bayern Munich in 2013. Despite picking up domestic silverware with relative ease, the Champions League proved elusive for the Bavarians and their Spanish tactician – hence his departure for City in 2016.

At City Guardiola has taken his managerial reputation to extraordinary heights. Among his plethora of achievements while elevating the blue side of Manchester to previously unchartered heights is the team’s sole Champions League title, which came in 2023.

Then there are the six league titles he has clinched while in Manchester, including an English top-flight record of four successive league titles between the 2020/21 and 2023/24 seasons.

In recent times, Guardiola and his team have been under increased scrutiny. But they are just victims of these previous successes and overall consistency. The club is still in the Premier League’s top four and they were one of eight teams that qualified directly for this season’s round of 16 in the Champions League.

They are also in the final of the Carabao Cup, where Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal is waiting to shoot them down on 22 March. DM