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Premier League

Pep Guardiola Leaves Man City After 10 Years and 20 Trophies

By eplreport 4 min read

Pep Guardiola leaves Man City after a decade at the Etihad

Pep Guardiola leaves Man City after ten years, 20 trophies and a decade in which the club became the dominant force in English football. The Catalan confirmed on 22 May 2026 that the 2025/26 campaign would be his last, and two days later he took charge of his 593rd and final game at the Etihad Stadium.

Why Pep Guardiola leaves Man City now

Guardiola had been linked with an exit several times before, most notably when he extended his contract in late 2024. This time the decision stuck. Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak said the conversation felt different from previous ones and that the club had chosen not to resist it.

Guardiola said he plans to take a long break and will not return to coaching for some time. He will stay connected to the club as an ambassador for City Football Group, the multi-club network that owns Manchester City. He has also said he expects his time at City to be the last club job of his career, something he first hinted at in an interview back in 2024.

A farewell spoiled by Aston Villa

The final game on 24 May did not go to script. Antoine Semenyo gave City the lead in the 23rd minute, but Ollie Watkins scored twice after half-time to give Aston Villa a 2-1 win. City were already certain to finish second behind champions Arsenal, so the result changed little, but it meant Guardiola’s last Premier League game ended in defeat.

It was an emotional day all the same. Bernardo Silva and John Stones also played their final games for the club, and supporters stayed long after the final whistle to say goodbye. beIN Sports has a full look back at his decade in Manchester.

One last double

Guardiola did not leave empty-handed. City won the Carabao Cup earlier in the season and then beat Chelsea 1-0 in the FA Cup final at Wembley on 16 May, with Semenyo scoring the winner, to complete a domestic cup double. We covered the road to that final when City scraped through their semi-final.

Those two cups brought his total at the club to 20 major trophies, including:

  • Six Premier League titles
  • One Champions League, as part of the 2023 treble
  • Multiple FA Cups and League Cups, plus Community Shields, the UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup

His sides also set records that may never be broken, including the 100-point season in 2017/18 and four consecutive league titles between 2021 and 2024.

Guardiola on the 115 charges

The one cloud over his departure was the Premier League’s case against the club. City were charged with more than 100 breaches of financial rules covering a period that began before Guardiola arrived in 2016 and overlapped with his first two seasons. There has never been any suggestion that he was aware of any alleged wrongdoing.

Asked in his final weeks why he had defended the club so firmly, Guardiola said he trusted the people running it and that none of the current staff or players had been at the club during the period in question. He joked that anyone wanting him to return for a press conference once the outcome was known would first have to find him.

That outcome eventually came on 29 September 2026, when an independent commission found City guilty of almost all of the charges. Sanctions are still to be decided at a separate hearing. You can read our full report on the 115 charges verdict, and Inside World Football has the original announcement of his exit.

Who replaces Guardiola?

City had planned for the day Pep Guardiola leaves Man City for some time. At the end of June 2026 they appointed Enzo Maresca on a three-year deal. It is his third spell at the club: he coached the under-21 side, then returned as Guardiola’s assistant in 2022 and was part of the staff for the 2023 treble, before going on to manage Leicester and Chelsea. He left Chelsea in January 2026, and City reportedly paid compensation to bring him in.

Guardiola promised to call his successor to offer support. Maresca knows the club’s methods better than any outside candidate could, but he inherits a squad in transition after the departures of several senior players, and he will have to manage expectations built over a decade of near-constant success.

What changes when Pep Guardiola leaves Man City

The biggest question is whether City’s model can survive without the man who shaped it. The club has invested heavily in its recruitment and academy structures, and the choice of a Guardiola disciple suggests continuity rather than revolution. The challenge for Maresca is to keep the identity while adding his own ideas, as rivals such as Arsenal grow stronger.

The legacy

When Pep Guardiola leaves Man City, he leaves behind more than trophies. His positional style changed how English clubs coach, from academies to first teams, and many of his former assistants now run sides of their own.

The verdict on the charges means debate over his era will continue, but on the pitch, few managers in Premier League history can match what he achieved. For more on his final season, read about how he still had incredible energy despite the exit talk, and follow the latest in our Manchester City section.