Introduction
On 22 May 2026, Pep Guardiola confirmed he was leaving Manchester City after 10 extraordinary years. The news was not a shock — there had been speculation for months — but it still felt like the end of something enormous. English football, and world football, will not see anything quite like it again for a long time.
Who Is Pep Guardiola?
Josep “Pep” Guardiola is 55 years old and Spanish. He is widely regarded as the greatest football manager in history — not just the modern era, but all of history. That is not hyperbole: it is the consensus view of most serious football analysts.
As a player, he was the heartbeat of the legendary Barcelona team of the early 1990s — intelligent, controlling, perfectly positioned. He retired relatively early and moved into management.
What Did He Win at City?
In 10 years at Manchester City, Guardiola won:
Six Premier League titles
Two FA Cups
Two EFL Cups (League Cups)
One Champions League (2023)
One FIFA Club World Cup
20 major trophies in total
He transformed City from a club that had spent lavishly but lacked identity into a team that redefined what football looked like. In 2022/23 he managed a treble — Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League in the same season. It had never been done by a British club before.
How Did He Change Football?
Guardiola’s influence extends far beyond what City won. He changed how football is played, talked about and thought about. His teams play with a clear philosophy — keep the ball, press when you lose it, attack in organised waves, use every player intelligently.
Managers across England, Europe and the world have tried to copy aspects of his approach. The language of football changed in his decade at City: terms like “pressing triggers,” “positional play” and “high defensive line” entered mainstream football conversation because of him.
What's Next?
Guardiola has said he will take time away from management. He is 55 — still relatively young for a manager. The jobs he is linked with include the Brazil national team and various European giants.
City’s new manager, Enzo Maresca, has an almost impossible task — not just to win trophies, but to fill a space left by someone truly irreplaceable. Nobody will be expecting him to be Guardiola. They will just be hoping he can make City competitive again while the rebuilding begins.
