Pep Guardiola is expected to depart Manchester City this summer, putting to a close a brilliant 10-year stint in which the manager has revolutionized English football.
After months of conjecture, rumors emerged on Monday night that the 55-year-old is poised to quit at the conclusion of the season, 12 months before the end of his contract.
Since coming at City in 2016, Guardiola has won six Premier League championships, five Carabao Cups, three FA Cups and the Champions League, establishing the club as the dominating power in the English game.
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Guardiola’s future has been a hot issue this season, and the gossip mill went into overdrive last week when leaked footage surfaced showing the former Barcelona manager shooting a ‘farewell video’ on the Etihad Stadium pitch.
While City have yet to formally announce the Catalan’s resignation, talk over who would succeed him has been prevalent, and it appears the club has already lined up his replacement.
According to transfer analyst Fabrizio Romano, City have reached “a total verbal agreement” with Enzo Maresca to replace Guardiola.
Chelsea manager ready to sign a three-year contract.
Romano adds that the Italian has “always been considered the ideal candidate” to follow the great coach, and the 46-year-old allegedly conducted negotiations about the post last month, despite the Etihad administration hoping Guardiola would stay for one more season.
Maresca was appointed manager of City’s Elite Development Squad in 2020, and in his only season in command, his Under 23 side won the Premier League 2 before moving to Serie A to coach Parma.
He spent only 14 games with the Italian club before returning to City, where he was a member of Guardiola’s first-team staff for the 2022/23 Treble-winning season.
Maresca departed to manage Leicester City after their relegation from the Premier League, and he guided the Foxes to the Championship championship in 2023-24.
The former West Bromwich Albion, Juventus, and Sevilla player was subsequently employed by Chelsea, where he won the Conference League and Club World Cup in his only full season in charge, as well as Champions League qualifying, before departing in January amid mounting internal difficulties.
Guardiola and Maresca have mutual regard, as the City manager stated earlier this season: “One of the best managers in the world, Enzo Maresca, I know him quite well, but the job he has done at Chelsea does not get enough credit. “Winning the Club World Cup, Conference League, and qualifying for the Champions League in a competitive league with a young squad. “It is exceptional.”
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