Pep Guardiola may leave Manchester City with 20 trophies, including six Premier League titles, but he insisted on Sunday that it was the memories and connections, not the silverware, that will define his decade as manager at the club.
Guardiola – giving his final post-match press conference as city boss after a 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa in a season finale that meant little to either side – spoke movingly of the bond he had built with players, staff, fans and the city.
While his record speaks for itself, Guardiola said trophies alone could never reflect what he experienced at the club.
“The baggage of memories I put into it is more than any other team (before),” he said. “Without 20 trophies they would have fired me sooner, but you’re not at home and you see the trophies and you say, ‘Oh, I’m so happy.’ I don’t know, explain to me why I had a connection with the city from day one, but especially with the backroom staff, with the players. I know we were connected.”
Guardiola selected outgoing captain Bernardo Silva and defender John Stones.
«I don’t cry, but when I see Bernardo cry, I cry,» Guardiola said. «It was such a special moment with Bernie. He said to me, ‘I’m so tired, I can’t run.’ And the emotions were so important today with John.”
The Spaniard also pointed to other people who shaped his City journey, from his current squad to those who returned just for his farewell.
“The lucky (former City player) Fernandinho was here, came from Brazil just for today, I will never forget that,” Guardiola said.
«Eddie and Gundo (Ederson and Ilkay Gundogan), and all the guys in the (tribute) video, for John and Bernie, what they’ve done this decade, top people, top players, incredible machines too. Winning, winning, winning every day.»
GUARDIOLA’S ATTACHMENT TO MANCHESTER
Guardiola, 55, also reflected on his attachment to Manchester and explained how he immersed himself in the city.
“We always live in the heart of the city,” he said, mentioning his other coaching duties, including at Bayern Munich. «I think it’s a good decision. I’ve always tried to understand where I’m going, and to understand a little bit: you have to walk and you have to feel the places.»
«(My family) talk about that a lot. Don’t come here and judge; you don’t come here to change anything for the British people, the culture, the traditions or whatever they have. You just observe, sometimes you like it, sometimes you don’t. We always live that way, to learn the languages, to learn where you are. So in the end that’s the most important thing.»
One of the most poignant moments came when he spoke of the pride he felt when his 95-year-old father Valentin attended the match at Etihad on Sunday.
“Imagine, as a father at the age of 95, feeling how these people love his son,” Guardiola said. “I thought that was great, to give these kinds of things to my father.”
Former Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca will reportedly replace the Spaniard.
Guardiola’s message to supporters about the coming seasons with someone new on the sidelines was simple: enjoy the moments, but keep demanding more.
“This case is so complicated,” he said. “If you win a game at The Etihad, celebrate it, enjoy it, go to the pubs in Manchester, have a nice beer. Then demand the players fight, demand the players run… that’s the best way we can move forward.”
«Every step, everything you do. Don’t wait to win the Premier League to be happy, don’t wait to win the Champions League to be happy. Enjoy the process and enjoy the boys because I know all the players here, they will do it, I know that.»
Published on May 25, 2026
