Who Will Replace Pep Guardiola at Manchester City?
Who Will Replace Pep Guardiola at Manchester City?
Pep Guardiola has been in charge of Manchester City for eight years having left Bayern Munich to take over at the Premier League club. His tenure has been nothing short of astonishing with the former Barcelona coach collecting 17 major honours. This impressive haul includes a domestic treble which was achieved during the 2018-19 campaign and more recently, the 53-year-old finally secured a UEFA Champions League title for the club, following several failed attempts.
Why Might Pep be Leaving?
As of August 2024, Pep has yet to confirm his departure, however, he has been stalling over a new contract and is thought to be considering taking some time out of the game. His former counterpart Jurgen Klopp departed Liverpool at the end of the 2023-24 campaign citing ‘exhaustion’ as a major factor in his decision. Managing at the highest level is highly rewarding, yet it can also have an impact on a manager’s mental and physical health.
If Pep was to vacate the Etihad Stadium, he would not be short of offers. Earlier in the summer, he was linked to the England job.
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Is Pep Likely to do a U-Turn?
There’s every chance that Pep opts to extend his contract by a couple of years. The Catalonian has previously suggested that he doesn’t want to be tied down to a long deal, so a short extension to his current deal could be a viable option.
The Manchester City hierarchy are believed to be extremely keen for him to stay at the club and they have given him a deadline of December 2024 to finalise his decision.
The players are also fairly unanimous in their love for Guardiola with Ilkay Gundogan returning to the club from Barcelona having personally asked Pep if he’d be able to sort out a deal for the German midfielder to be reunited with the Premier League champions.
Who is Likely to Replace Guardiola?
There has been plenty of speculation over the potential successor to Pep Guardiola and amid fears that he was set to walk away two seasons ago, a shortlist was believed to have been drawn up by the club’s owners.
According to the betting, Roberto De Zerbi is the favourite. The Italian was in charge of Brighton for two seasons and was unanimously praised for his enterprising style of football. The former Sassuolo head coach’s reputation took a hit as the Seagulls tailed off at the end of last season, although they weren’t helped by a combination of injuries and a punishing schedule. De Zerbi has recently taken over at Ligue 1 side Marseille, although he would likely jump at the chance to return to the English top flight.
Vincent Kompany, who is currently in charge of Bayern Munich is an obvious candidate given his strong ties with the club. The former defender had a mixed record at Burnley and suffered a relegation from the Premier League last season. It remains to be seen how he gets on in the Bundesliga. A successful season at the Allianz may help his chances of getting the top job at Manchester City in the future.
Another current Bundesliga boss has been constantly linked with top level vacancies this summer. Xavi Alonso has done a remarkable job in charge of Bayer Leverkusen and although he rejected the chance to join both Liverpool and Bayern Munich this summer, he may have eyes on the potential vacancy in the blue half of Manchester.
Zinedine Zidane hasn’t managed since leaving Real Madrid for the second time in 2021, yet the former midfielder continually finds himself linked with top jobs. He has ample experience of competing and managing in the Champions League.
Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta, who worked under Pep Guardiola for many years has also been linked, although he is unlikely to leave the Gunners anytime soon. The betting also has current German national team boss Julian Nagelsmann and Spurs’ Ange Postecoglu amongst those in with a shot of succeeding Pep.