Man City star discusses Pep Guardiola’s departure reasons

Guardiola steps down after a decade at Manchester City, citing declining energy rather than fading ambition.

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Add us on Google by Editorial Team Jun. 9, 2026

Pep Guardiola’s ten-year era at Manchester City is over. The manager announced on May 22, 2026, that he would step down at the end of the 2025/26 season, closing a chapter that reshaped English football and turned City into the most decorated club of the modern Premier League era.

Twenty trophies and an exit clause

Guardiola arrived at the Etihad in July 2016. Over the next decade, he accumulated 20 major trophies, the most in Manchester City’s history. That haul includes Premier League titles, FA Cups, League Cups, and the club’s first-ever Champions League crown.

Guardiola had one year remaining on his contract when he made the announcement. Rather than see out the final season, he invoked an exit clause to leave on his own terms. The decision was not forced by the club. It was, by all accounts, mutual and pre-planned.

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His final match in charge took place on May 24, 2026, against Aston Villa in the Premier League finale.

Energy, not ambition

Guardiola didn’t say he lost interest. He didn’t say the squad disappointed him. He said his energy levels were declining.

He described the feeling as gradual. “I felt it for a while,” Guardiola said, suggesting the decision had been forming quietly in the background even as his team continued competing at the sharp end of multiple competitions.

Guardiola confirmed he will not be coaching for the immediate future. Instead, he will take up a Global Ambassador role with the City Football Group, the multi-club ownership structure that sits behind Manchester City.

The parallels to Jurgen Klopp’s departure from Liverpool in 2024 are hard to miss. Klopp, too, cited emotional and physical exhaustion as his primary motivation for walking away from one of the biggest jobs in world football.

What comes next for City

Manchester City have lined up Enzo Maresca as Guardiola’s successor. The transition appears to have been choreographed well in advance, which tracks with how the City Football Group tends to operate.

The Global Ambassador role keeps Guardiola connected to the organization while Maresca takes charge.

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