Catch up on how the football world absorbed the news Guardiola will leave as manager after 10 years at Etihad Stadium.The Athletic Live TeamMay 26, 2026 at 5:21 AM EDTPep Guardiola will leave Manchester City after 10 seasons in charge Getty ImagesGuardiola to leave Man City – LatestPep Guardiola will leave his role as Manchester City manager this summer, with former Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca expected to replace him. Multiple sources briefed on the situation say Guardiola is preparing to depart the club at the end of this season, one in which his side have won the Carabao Cup and FA Cup and remain in contention for the Premier League title. Guardiola's departure ends one of the most successful managerial tenures in PL history, with Saturday’s FA Cup win the 20th major trophy for the 55-year-old during a 10-year spell at the Etihad. Share your thoughts and reactions with us at live@theathletic.com.What might Pep do next?So, what comes next for one of the most lauded and respected head coaches in modern football?It is no exaggeration to say that Pep Guardiola could walk into almost any job in the world, although a move away from club football has seemed likely for a while. He has expressed an interest in international management, while in the past he has also taken breaks between jobs as a form of sabbatical.The only person who will know what is next — and even that might be up for debate — is Guardiola himself. Look how his tactics have been copied, how it is the norm these days at every level of the sport for attacks to build from the back, and how his methodology has been taken on by a small army of other coaches.It is the same all the way down the football pyramid, from kids’ matches to grassroots level. It all starts with Guardiola — a pioneer, a shape-changer, a history-maker, even before taking into account that it would need a small aircraft hangar to store all his trophies.Football will carry on without him. Yet Guardiola’s influence will still be visible in England, and further beyond, at football grounds of all different sizes. That, in itself, gives him credentials to be recognised as the real Special One, even if that nickname has already gone to somebody else.How Guardiola changed English football It is difficult to overstate the magnitude of Guardiola's impact, not only on the way that football looks and feels in the Premier League, but throughout England's professional landscape as a whole.Though it took a season for his ideas to sink in — we all remember Claudio Bravo and a number of his early City full-backs nervously tucking into midfield — Guardiola's philosophy eventually sustained the most dominant team that the Premier League has ever seen. Before him, English football's most successful managers championed physicality, directness and quick combinations on the counter-attack. Guardiola sought to slow things down control games with settled possession, and move the ball into spaces that the meticulous planning and player positioning would create.Such was the success of Guardiola's side that teams soon began to imitate his approach. The goalkeeper quickly became an important figure in the build-up as an extra man, while defenders up and down the country began to take risks passing out from the back. Average pass completion statistics through England’s top four leagues crept up as his City team flourished, with more sides prioritising technical players and practicing passing patterns to help them play through the press.When Guardiola joined City in 2016, there was widespread resistance to his ways, almost a desperation to prove that his quick passing football could never work on these shores.As he moves towards his departure, ten years, six Premier League titles, five League Cups, three Community Shields, three FA Cups, a Premier League points record and a Champions League trophy later, he has proven those doubters wrong.Guardiola’s longevity is near-unparalleled in England With Guardiola’s departure, the bond between Manchester City and the second longest-serving manager in English men’s football will be severed.Only Harrogate Town’s Simon Weaver, pictured above, has been in his post longer in the top four leagues of English football.Weaver joined the League Two (fourth-tier) side on May 21, 2009 and is only a matter of days away from being in charge of the club for 17 whole years.With Guardiola now leaving, Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta — a rival and former protege of Guardiola — is in second place after more than six years in north London.Guardiola is also the second longest-serving Manchester City manager of all time.The only person to eclipse him is Wilf Wild, who was in charge for 14 years and nine months between 1932 and 1946, spanning the entirety of World War II.A record-breaking manager in many respects Guardiola’s Manchester City are the only team to win 100 points in one season in English top-flight history.In that 2017-18 campaign, City won 32, drew four and lost only twice in the 38-game domestic season, scoring 106 and conceding just 27 for a goal difference of +79.Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool came closest to that total two years later, recording 99 points.While in 2018-19, City recorded 98 points, one ahead of Liverpool — marking the third- and fourth-highest single-season points totals in Premier League history.How Guardiola’s record at City compares with the rest of his career Pep Guardiola has enjoyed trophy-laden spells at three top-flight European clubs, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City. How does his win record compare at each? Manchester City: 591 matches with 423 wins, 76 draws and 92 losses (71.5 per cent win record)Bayern Munich: 161 matches with 124 wins, 16 draws and 21 losses (77 per cent win record)Barcelona: 247 matches with 179 wins, 47 draws and 21 losses (72 per cent win record)A win record to be envied Before he joined City, Guardiola had only lost 19 of his 239 league games as manager — quite the record. Well, in a decade as City boss, he has incurred a few more but still has an impressive win record. With 416 wins in 591 games as manager, Guardiola’s win rate at City is 70.4 per cent. A record that will probably never be beaten.One of the greatest managers of all time When Guardiola would beat all and sundry in Spain and Germany, at Barcelona and Bayern Munich respectively, many fans compared those leagues unfavourably to English football.‘Come and do it in the Premier League, if you’re so good,’ some thought. Well, he did, dominating what many consider the most dominant and competitive league in the world many times.Indeed, he holds the record for the most consecutive league games won in the Premier League, Bundesliga, and La Liga.Manchester City won 18 on the spin in 2017-18, Bayern Munich 19 in a row in 2013-14, and Barcelona 16 successively in 2010-11.Is Pep Guardiola Manchester City’s greatest-ever manager? That feels like a pretty simple yes, given all the trophies that he has won. How will City fans adjust to life without the genius behind their success?Time will tell, but filling the Spaniard’s shoes is going to be a gigantic task for whoever replaces him.A club transformed — changes at City in Guardiola’s reign Aside from the many changes to the club’s trophy cabinet and their playing squad, City have also made changes elsewhere in Guardiola’s reign. Outside the Etihad there are statues for iconic players in the club’s modern history, most of whom are intricately linked with Guardiola’s success, like his former captain Vincent Kompany (above).Then there is the major expansion to the north stand at the Etihad Stadium at a cost believed to be around £300million ($400m).The work has also seen a new fan zone, museum, club shop and hotel added to the ground’s immediate vicinity. The new redevelopment is set to open in the last game of the 2025-26 season. But Guardiola insisted he would leave if he were lied to Though in May 2022, Guardiola said: “Why did I defend the club and the people? It’s because I work with them. When they are accused of something I ask them: ‘Tell me about that.’ “They explained and I believed them. I said to them: ‘If you lie to me, the day after I am not here. I will be out and I will not be your friend any more. “‘I put my faith in you because I believe you 100 per cent from day one and I defend the club because of that.’”Watch this space…Pep Guardiola’s faith in City during the caseThe Manchester City manager must have been asked about the charges hanging over City a dozen times and along the way, he has shown plenty of support to the club in their fight.He demonstrated a firm commitment when he was asked in November 2024 about the possibility of City being relegated as punishment.💬 “I said six months ago when all the clubs accused us of doing something wrong, what happens if I get relegated: I will be here. We will come back to the Premier League (if that happens). I knew it then, and I feel it now.”He had previously said in November 2023: “At the moment we are innocent until it is proven we are guilty. I know the people want it. I know, I feel it. I will wait and see and after the sentence has been done we will come here and explain it.“But absolutely I will not consider my future (if) it depends on being here or being in League One. Absolutely. There is more chance to stay if we are in League One than if we were in the Champions League.”Guardiola’s new deal set the tone after charges New contracts for Manchester City’s manager, and star player Erling Haaland, led many supporters — particularly of rival clubs — to believe the club were not in any serious trouble despite the charges against them.Guardiola signed a new contract in November 2024, albeit much shorter one than Haaland’s, ending in 2027. “Now was not the time to leave,” said the Spaniard, ending any speculation he would leave the Etihad Stadium at that time.The new deals were a show of defiance from two of City’s main personalities in the face of circling storm clouds.Did Pep hint at his future plans earlier this month? After taking a break from elite-level football to watch Stockport County in the EFL in midweek, Guardiola was asked about his experience watching League One football in a press conference on May 1...And he seemed to drop a hint at where he might be next season.💬 “I saw the calendar, the game PSG-Bayern Munich, and I said, ‘Ah what a disaster game! The managers are not good, Luis, Vinny. Really, really s***, s*** players!’“So (I) decided to go. I'm in love with English football, and I went to see Stockport.“Next season, my old team Bayern Munich will be at Allianz Arena and I will be on the sofa.”When did Guardiola last sign a contract extension? The last time Guardiola put pen to paper on a new deal at City was in November 2024. At that time, the deal he signed was set to keep him at the club up to the end of the 2026-27 season.The news that he will leave at the end of the current 2025-26 campaign means he does so with a year remaining on his contract.Guardiola’s best signings Ederson? Bernardo Silva? Or how about Rodri? Manchester City have signed some top talent in Guardiola’s time in charge and while their club structure means many teams of staff will have been involved in the process, their manager has huge pulling power.Put simply, players want to play for the best manager in the world and Guardiola has shown that he is exactly that. Let us know who you think Guardiola’s best signing, or who you think is the player who best represents Guardiola’s City, at live@theathletic.com and we hope to feature your thoughts in our coverage.Highlights: Four Premier League titles in a row May 2024 brought Manchester City’s fourth Premier League title in a row — a remarkable record that is so far unmatched by English top-flight sides.Plenty of other records tumbled along the way, including Guardiola becoming the first manager to win four UEFA Super Cup titles, as well as the first to win four Club World Cup titles. City also broke the record for the most wins in a month in the top four tiers of English football and the record for the longest winning run in top-flight history during that period of time.Securing the treble was a historic achievement Only one other team and manager has secured a treble of the Premier League title, the FA Cup and the Champions League.That was Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United back in 1998-99.There have only been 10 others across European football, one of which was secured under Pep Guardiola at Barcelona in 2008-09.Highlights: The Treble By far the biggest highlight in Guardiola’s City career and in the club’s history is when they secured a treble of major trophies, winning the Premier League, FA Cup and a much sought-after first Champions League title. After plenty of near misses with getting his hands on the Champions League trophy as City boss, Guardiola finally did it with a 1-0 win against Inter Milan in the final in June 2023 after Rodri’s goal.A day to remember for all City fans.