Pep Guardiola will reportedly step down as Manchester City manager in 2025 after nine years at the helm at the Etihad Stadium.
Though nothing is yet officially confirmed, it was reported by the Daily Mail on Sunday that Pep Guardiola is ‘set to leave’ Manchester City at the end of next season.
Guardiola has 12 months remaining on his contract and it’s claimed sources say it will be his last, though the Blues would love him to stay.
It’s the inevitable news supporters must have feared for years given the incredible football, dominance and success Guardiola has brought to the blue side of Manchester.
For the club, the decision on who replaces one of the best managers of all time is a pivotal one and Manchester City News writers have named who they could see taking on the task.
Michel – Girona
Life after Guardiola is a daunting prospect for City fans, and some are hoping for a household name to come in as his replacement.
But someone who doesn’t quite have an enormous reputation yet, but is certainly worth the club’s consideration, is Miguel Angel Sanchez Munoz – better known as Michel – who achieved remarkable things with Girona in 2023/24.
Michel defied the odds, taking City Football Group-owned Girona up to the dizzying heights of third in La Liga, and the club will play Champions League football in 2024/25 for the first time.
He was ultimately named La Liga Coach of the Year for his exploits, beating Carlo Ancelotti, and four of his players made it into the Team of the Season.
The Spaniard’s style of football has been described by respected performance analysis website Hudl as ‘exciting, entertaining and tactically sophisticated’ suggesting he could actually make for a solid Pep replacement.
He is also said to be somewhat like Pep in that he can be very animated on the touchline. It’d be a huge step up for Michel, but City officials might just be willing to take a chance on him.
In a way, City fans are likely to have more patience with someone up-and-coming like Michel than an experienced and established coach who’d be expected to deliver immediately.
By Tom Proctor.
Vincent Kompany – Bayern Munich
Replacing Guardiola will be one of the toughest challenges any manager could face.
However, with the connection Vincent Kompany has with the club and supporters, he may have a better chance of success than others. Or he’d certainly be given more patience, at least.
Things didn’t go well for him in his first season in the Premier League as Burnley were relegated but his football identity hasn’t gone unnoticed and he’s now been hired by German giants Bayern Munich.
With the style of play he’s developed, no doubt thanks to Guardiola, the former City captain could be the ideal candidate to take the club in a new, but similar, direction once the current manager leaves.
Guardiola obviously thinks so, too, given he has repeatedly said Kompany will manage the club one day.
He said in March 2023: “Maybe he doesn’t agree with me but having seen his teams I’m more than convinced today he’s going to come back.
“When? When I said my feelings weeks ago, this part I don’t know. But it’s going to happen.”
Whether that will be straight after Guardiola leaves is yet to be seen. For the time being, it’s safe to say that many people at City and fans will have their eyes on how Kompany fares in charge of Bayern.
By James Thompson.
Mikel Arteta – Arsenal
Sometimes the simplest answer is the right one and doesn’t pursuing Mikel Arteta as the new City manager make a degree of sense?
Arteta learned directly under Guardiola for years, has gone off and proven capable of managing a massive team under immense pressure while improving them significantly with strong principles and has an attractive style of play.
His Arsenal side were able to match City stride-for-stride last season and only lost the title by a single point. Only Jurgen Klopp has managed to do that after Guardiola’s first year in charge.
Arteta is a proven Premier League quality, already familiar with the club and wrestling him away from the Gunners would have the added benefit of derailing a main rival. It actually makes a lot of sense.
By Dan Murphy.
Julian Nagelsmann – Germany
Though Julian Nagelsmann’s contract as Germany boss doesn’t expire until 2026, his name was mentioned in a list of the candidates who could replace Guardiola in the Mail’s report.
The German, much like Guardiola, is one of the most tactically flexible managers in world football.
Nagelsmann plays an attractive brand of football that is focused on dominating possession and having numerical superiority by often setting up with five attacking players.
With the stylistic similarities between him and Guardiola as well as the impressive jobs he did at Leipzig and Bayern, he could prove to be an astute successor to the Catalan.
By Srinivas Sadhanand
Xabi Alonso – Bayer Leverkusen
Much like Nagelsmann, Xabi Alonso is also viewed as a potential successor to Guardiola’s throne at Manchester City, as per the previously mentioned report by the Daily Mail.
The Spaniard is arguably the best young manager in world football.
Having made history at Bayer Leverkusen, Alonso has showcased his qualities as a master tactician and a manager who can change a club’s culture singlehandedly, much like Guardiola.
Taking a club, who were widely viewed as “Neverkusen” and producing one of the best seasons in recent history is some achievement.
Alonso’s focus on having a stable defensive structure, typified by having five defenders but attacking with a front five exemplifies the balance in his system.
With Alonso also showcasing he is excellent at coaching young players like Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong, the similarities between him and Guardiola are undeniable.
Appointing Alonso could be a risk due to his lack of top-level experience but he has all the makings of an elite manager already.
By Srinivas Sadhanand