Manchester City chairman compares Guardiola to ‘Boy who cried wolf’, says Spaniard ‘quit 100 times’ before final exit

Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has revealed that Pep Guardiola “made 100 stops” during a decade at the club before leaving at the end of the season, drawing a line under one of the most successful managerial reigns in English football.

In a wide-ranging interview with City’s internal media, Al Mubarak said Guardiola had repeatedly half-heartedly flirted with leaving over the years, only to be persuaded to move on – until the moment he knew the decision was final.

«It is inevitable that we have had many ups and downs in the last ten years. And during the downs he must have stopped a hundred times,» Al Mubarak said.

«There’s the story as you all know: ‘The boy who cried wolf.’ In Pep’s case, just because he says I’m going to stop doesn’t mean he’s going to stop. You don’t take it so seriously, you have to manage him.

“I’ve always had a very clear understanding with Pep, because of that analogy with the ‘Boy Who Cried Wolf’: whenever he stops, I will always convince him to come back until the moment when I know that this is actually the real moment when Pep decides it’s time.

«There are moments that aren’t real and he actually needs someone to bring him back. And there would always be a moment where it would be real.»

Al Mubarak said that in addition to becoming good friends with Guardiola, he was also the Spaniard’s pseudo-psychiatrist, pulling him back from the brink in bad times.

Guardiola’s threats to quit finally came true this season, Al Mubarak said, ending a 10-year tenure he described as «exceptional».

“We achieved that, and I knew it and that’s why I didn’t fight it,” he said. “At this particular moment, I think he knew, and I knew he knew… I didn’t fight this at all, because I knew this was the moment he really meant it.

Guardiola claimed 20 trophies with City, including six Premier League titles and the Champions League, before calling time on his career at the end of a season in which his side finished second in the league and won the FA Cup and League Cup.

His departure followed a period in which City established themselves as the dominant force in English football, reshaping the tactical landscape in the process.

“He changed English football,” said Al Mubarak.

«You look at the way the league has evolved… the way football is played in this league from 10 years ago to now. I don’t think there’s any doubt about his influence on the game. He left his fingerprint on this league.»

“Very few managers will come into football and change not just the team, but an entire competition. And Pep has done that here.”

Despite Guardiola’s departure, Al Mubarak insisted that City’s share price would continue to rise and that they would appoint the «right manager» for a seamless transition.

“We’re far from peaking yet,” he said. «We are used to it because it is in our DNA, winning. This is a club designed and built to win. What Pep has given us has taken us to the next level.»

“We have gone through a very thoughtful and structured process and the team is confident – ​​and I am confident, rest assured – that we will bring in the right manager for this club.

“We will announce it shortly and you will be assured that we have selected and brought in the best possible manager for this club.”

Guardiola’s former assistant Enzo Maresca is his expected successor.

Published on June 4, 2026