Man City stance on Pep Guardiola exit revealed as season ‘implodes’

Manchester City will allow Pep Guardiola to walk away from the club if he decides enough is enough, according to a report.

Guardiola has guided Man City to unprecedented success in recent years, helping them to win one Champions League, six Premier League titles and two FA Cups, plus a host of other silverware. Guardiola has created some of the best teams of all time during his spell at the Etihad and even led City to a remarkable 100 points in the 2017-18 Premier League season, as well as winning the title four times in a row between 2021 and 2024.

However, City’s ageing squad has now caught up with them, and they are currently enduring arguably their toughest season under Guardiola’s leadership.

The Citizens have been dumped out of both the Champions League and League Cup and are in a fight to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

City endured a terrible run between October 30 and Boxing Day, winning just once in 13 matches across all competitions and losing nine times.

City’s form has improved since then, though they remain way below their usual incredibly high standards and were recently knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid.

The Telegraph have now provided an insight into Guardiola’s thoughts and the possibility of the 54-year-old moving on in the near future.

While Guardiola is not actively planning to leave at this stage, City will allow him to go if he makes this desire known to chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak. This is because the pair have a good relationship and hold great respect for one another.

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City chiefs are concerned about Guardiola’s wellbeing as he appears visibly stressed during matches and has held interviews in which he has discussed the “loneliness” of being a manager. The world-renowned coach has also spoken about football’s impact on his health, as he has a skin problem and struggles to digest food properly.

The report states that Guardiola knew City’s season was ‘imploding’ when they blew a three-goal lead against Feyenoord in the Champions League back in November and were ultimately held to a 3-3 draw.

Guardiola left City fans pleasantly surprised when he penned a two-year contract extension in November which is designed to keep him at the Etihad until June 2027. The deal was announced after City had lost four straight games and it has been claimed that Guardiola wants to ‘put things right’.

The ex-Barcelona boss knows a massive ‘rebuild’ is needed and appears ready to play a key role in that this summer. Guardiola could perform a similar job to Jurgen Klopp, who helped to get the Liverpool squad in order to aid his successor, Arne Slot.

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There has already been speculation about which players could leave as part of that squad revamp.

Jack Grealish, Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva are among eight top stars who have been tipped to move on.

City also need to replace right-back Kyle Walker this summer and Bayer Leverkusen’s Jeremie Frimpong is a prime candidate.

TEAMtalk understands Frimpong – who is also being chased by Liverpool – has a gentleman’s agreement which will allow him to leave Leverkusen for €40m (£33m).

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