No more pep talks: are Man City mentally equipped to imagine life after Guardiola?

In March, this correspondent wrote an article suggesting how Pep Guardiola should leave Manchester City to protect his legacy. But two months later, a domestic doubles match and a spirited Premier League title battle have shown the doubters – guilty as charged – the personality that will be missed on the sidelines.

Guardiola’s obsession with success and ability to deliver on it time and time again has long silenced anyone who dared to question him. And with Man City announcing he would resign after the final game of the season, it will not only be the club missing its greatest manager, but also English football, on which Guardiola has fully left his mark.

His trophy crop is ridiculous. The only thing perhaps more ridiculous is the man himself.

Guardiola’s wild gestures during matches are seen as gimmicks for the cameras, but 20 trophies in ten years prove there is magic in those frantically moving fingers.

When Guardiola arrived in England in 2016 with praise for his dominance in Spain and Germany, Guardiola planned to do the same in Manchester. «I proved myself in Barcelona, ​​and then I proved myself in Germany. Now I’m here and I want to prove myself with my staff, with the great players at Manchester City,» he said in one of his first public appearances after being appointed.

And it started well. Wearing tailored blazers and trousers on the sidelines, Guardiola started the competition with six wins out of six, but soon felt the heat of the end-to-end nature of English football.

Many in the squad he inherited from Manuel Pellegrini were in the twilight of their careers and could not meet his demands as he finished the season trophyless – a first for him as a manager.

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Many thought that was it. Pundits and critics alike were given further fuel to fuel claims that Guardiola’s refined style had no basis in football’s birthplace.

Despite the harsh criticism, Guardiola claimed that “the team will play the way I want to play.” His stubbornness surprisingly encouraged the Emirati club’s owners to dip into their deep pockets and bring in fresher faces like Bernardo Silva, Kyle Walker and Ederson – a practice that continued for years.

After that there was no way back. The sharpness he sacrificed in his outfits was offset by the sharpness on the pitch as Man City became the first team to score 100 points, the first team to achieve the domestic quadruple and the first team to win four league titles in a row; the list of records goes on and on.

And embedded in those years was the triumph of the UEFA Champions League, which made him the first manager to win the treble with two different clubs.

But Guardiola’s success was not solely dependent on money; If it were, Man City wouldn’t have been the only club to dominate English football over the past decade.

His reinvention of every position on the pitch created a blueprint that many followed, even down to the country’s lower levels, although not everyone was as successful in its execution. The goalkeeper was no longer just an inhabitant of the penalty area; the defenders were not just there to thwart attacks, but rather were the starting point.

Anyone who predicted he would pass the ball could not guarantee the trophies were made to eat their words as Man City topped the charts for total passes in each of Guardiola’s ten seasons.

But Guardiola’s contributions extended far beyond the four lines of the pitch. The Catalonia-born manager emerged as a strict style purist and over the years became familiar with the city of Manchester and its culture. His presence was everywhere, from witnessing and enjoying the reunion of British band Oasis to setting up the Guardiola Sala Foundation which supported community initiatives, which in turn earned him an honorary doctorate from the University of Manchester.

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Even at press conferences, his attitude changed from strict and very defensive in his first seasons to more human and honest. Guardiola was often involved in the banter, best represented by crossing his arms and chanting ‘come on, Irons’ in support of West Ham United in the match against league winners Arsenal earlier this season.

Even when Man City were sued by the Premier League in 2023 for alleged financial violations, Guardiola did not back down. He stated that he stood by management – who assured him nothing wrong had been done – and added that the pressure is motivating him and the players to push for more.

His position behind the microphone also allowed him to discuss more serious topics, such as the ongoing conflicts in different parts of the world, making him one of the few to defy a non-political approach.

«It hurts me. If it was the other side, it would hurt me. I’m sorry, I will rise, I will always be there. Always. Completely killing thousands of innocent people? It hurts me. It’s not more complicated than that. Not anymore,» he said at a press conference in February about people, especially children, being killed in conflict zones around the world.

So it will not only be a master tactician who will be missing next season, but also a personality in the press rooms and an outspoken member of the Manchester community. Traces of his influence will still be left in the league through his understudies – Mikel Arteta at Arsenal, Xabi Alonso at Chelsea and now reportedly Enzo Maresca at Man City.

In retrospect, Guardiola’s legacy was never in danger. Perhaps all he can hope for is that people don’t look back at him angrily, but rather embrace what has been one of English football’s most telling eras.

Published on May 23, 2026