When Will Pep Guardiola Leave Man City? Latest Updates on Manager’s Future

Guardiola has dropped a notable hint about his future as City approach the decisive weeks of his 10th season.

Pep Guardiola has a contract until 2027. | Michael Regan-The FA/The FA/Getty Images

Deep into his 10th season as Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola insisted that he still boasts “incredible energy” amid ever-growing speculation of his impending exit.

The Catalan coach’s future has been a hot topic for years. Even after Guardiola penned a new two-year deal last season, theoretically extending his spell at the Etihad until June 202, doubts over his willingness to see out that contract persist.

Guardiola did his best to quell that talk as City geared up for their final push ahead of the Premier League run-in. With a Carabao Cup already masterfully secured at the expense of Arsenal, Mikel Arteta’s former mentor was in high spirits as he tried to chase down his compatriot in the top flight. There is also the small matter of an FA Cup final to prepare for.

“I wouldn’t be 10 years [here]—even with good titles—if I didn’t have this incredible environment,” Guardiola gushed at the start of May. “I still have incredible energy, still I’m so good, coming here to work on my days off.

“Of course we’re here because we won a lot—and that’s why they don’t fire you, because they continue to trust you—but apart from that, the club is really, really extraordinary. The people take care of all of us in all details. The little details mean my job as a manager and the players, is to just think about what you have to do.

“It’s like a bubble that makes people feel good. It’s a big club, but here it is a family.”

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What Has Guardiola Said About Leaving Man City

Guardiola has reiterated his stance several times. | Alex Pantling/UEFA/Getty Images

Guardiola’s stance in public has been clear: he has a two-year deal which he intends on seeing out. “I have a contract,” the Catalan coach sighed when quizzed on the subject once again in January. “I said a thousand million times. It’s 10 years here. I will leave one day, but I have a contract.”

That City have been able to get Guardiola to commit his future (on paper at least) to the club is a testament to the years of planning which went behind his original appointment. City effectively reconstructed the support staff that the former Barcelona boss had enjoyed at Camp Nou long before eventually convincing Guardiola to move to the Etihad.

Ferran Soriano was installed as a City executive in 2012. One month later he hired Guardiola’s former Barcelona teammate Txiki Begiristain as the club’s sporting director, paving the way for the main man’s arrival in 2016.

This halo effect around the club has enraptured Guardiola.

“Aymeric Laporte [the former City defender] today in a newspaper in Spain said: ‘City is the best club in the world and you never realize how good they are, how incredibly organized, until you leave,’” Guardiola bragged.

“And that is the biggest compliment we can get—that players can leave and say: ‘That place was incredible.’ I love it when Gundo [Ilkay Gündogan] came back from Barcelona and said: ‘Man City is top-top.’ You know, when that happens, you are in a good way.”

“How many clubs around the world fired [employees]? Here not even once,” Guardiola continued. “The same salary—not even a reduced salary. The toughest moments in our lives, always there. Extraordinary. An extraordinary club.”

Guardiola has been criticized for not questioning how City—a club funded by the controversial state of Abu Dhabi—could afford such extravagances, but it appears as though his favorable opinion won’t be shifted any time soon.

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Why Is Guardiola’s Future Still Uncertain?

Enzo Maresca (left) used to work as Pep Guardiola’s assistant at Manchester City. | Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC/Getty Images

Despite his clear fondness for his divisive employers, Guardiola’s future remains shrouded in uncertainty. ESPN are one of many outlets to report that while the official line from City is they expect their coach to live up to his word, there would be no surprise to see him change his mind once the season concludes.

Should Guardiola steer this transformed City team—the third generation of winners during his decade in Manchester—to a domestic treble, no one could begrudge the 55-year-old sailing off into the sunset.

City are clearly wary of that eventuality. The modern English giants are widely reported to have drawn up several shortlists of potential candidates to replace Guardiola. Enzo Maresca’s repeated contact with City during the second half of 2025 was thought to contribute to his abrupt departure from Chelsea at the turn of the year.

While Guardiola’s former City assistant is expected to be the favorite to take on the daunting task of replacing him, these are merely contingency plans at this stage. Everything will hinge on Guardiola’s decision, which no one—perhaps even the man himself—yet knows.

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