Inside Manchester City as Pep Guardiola potentially enters final week of Etihad Stadium career

Multiple internal sources at Manchester City reportedly expect Pep Guardiola to step down at the end of the current season.

The upcoming departure of long-term fitness coach and trusted confidant Lorenzo Buenaventura is being viewed as a major signal of Pep’s exit.

The Etihad hierarchy insists no official decision has been made and they are actively working under the expectation that the Catalan stays.

Official confirmation of Guardiola’s future could arrive ahead of the final day clash against Aston Villa, heavily dependent on the midweek title race results.

Manchester City fans and players may be enjoying the final week of Pep Guardiola’s tenure at the Etihad Stadium, it is now being reported.

The news comes just 48 hours after Guardiola secured his 20th trophy at the club, reaching the landmark in his 10th year as Etihad Stadium head coach.

Advertisement

City pushed past Chelsea in a narrow 1-0 win at Stadium to lift the FA Cup thanks to a solitary goal from Antoine Semenyo, with Guardiola defiantly telling journalists prior to the contest “no way” when asked about it being his final visit to the national stadium as Sky Blues boss.

However, behind the scenes, the atmosphere tells a different story. While the public focus remains pinned on a down-to-the-wire Premier League title race against Arsenal, the club is quietly bracing itself for its most seismic managerial transition in its history.

A ‘real possibility’ of Pep Guardiola’s tenure ending

According to a wide-ranging report from The Athletic’s Sam Lee concerning the possibility of Pep Guardiola leaving Manchester City, people in football give off the sense that there is a ‘real possibility’ that this is going to be the final week of the Catalan’s Etihad tenure.

Advertisement

From the side of City themselves, they are said to be insisting that there has been no official decision regarding Guardiola’s future, and they are ‘working to the expectation he stays’ and until he tells the hierarchy he is leaving, anything can happen.

The report, however, points towards ‘several different sources in different departments around the City first team’ who are expecting Pep Guardiola to leave at the end of the ongoing season, with preparations made in different areas of the club in case he does depart.

The pending departure of long-term fitness coach and friend Lorenzo Buenaventura, as first reported by The Athletic, at the end of the season is also considered by ‘some people who know them’ as another sign that Guardiola could be set to follow.

But how will Manchester City go about announcing an exit of their greatest-ever manager, and such a transformational figure in the club’s history, who arguably remains the most important person in the Etihad Stadium’s set-up.

Advertisement

Sam Lee reports that the ‘thinking’ seems to be that things may remain quiet for the coming days depending on the outcome of Arsenal’s game against Burnley and City’s at Bournemouth 24 hours later – given that impact on the direction of the Premier League trophy.

Should the title race conclude by midweek, it is suggested that ‘official confirmation’ of Pep Guardiola’s departure could come in the build-up to the final game of the season against Aston Villa at the Etihad Stadium.

The contingency plan and what comes next for Man City

If this truly is the end of the road for Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, the club faces a high-pressure task of finding a successor capable of inheriting the Catalan’s tactical blueprint and outlook on the game, whilst also maintaining the exceptionally high standards within.

Advertisement

While preparations have reportedly been mapped out by Director of Football Hugo Viana, the emotional toll of replacing a man who has dictated the club’s identity for a decade will heavily weigh on the squad.

Should Arsenal stumble against Burnley and Manchester City capitalise against Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Tuesday night, the final-day matchup against Aston Villa at the Etihad Stadium could serve as both a title-deciding afternoon and a grand farewell party.

Fans will no doubt be watching the Etihad Stadium’s dugout with bated breath, knowing that every gesture from the 55-year-old might be his last at Manchester City before the club navigates into a new era – perhaps led by Enzo Maresca.

Click here to read article