Pep Guardiola has played his last game as Manchester City manager after ten successful years. His time was characterized by success, money and Jürgen Klopp.
Ten years, 593 competitive games, more than 70 percent of them won, an average points per game of 2.27 and 20 titles – each of these numbers is rarely if ever achieved in professional football. Pep Guardiola achieved it as coach of Manchester City. The 1:2 (1:0) defeat against Aston Villa on Sunday only slightly tarnished this balance. A hugely successful Spanish-English era is over.
What has been clear for months has happened
It began on July 1, 2016, after Guardiola decided to leave FC Bayern Munich after three equally successful years with seven titles (an even better rate than with the “Citizens”), but now it is over, although the contract ran until 2027. “Pep” doesn’t want to do it anymore, the rumors that he wants to end his time in Manchester have been around for months. There have been very specific reports about this for a week now, and now it’s official.
After the game against Aston Villa, Guardiola announced his decision after having to “fail” at press conferences for many weeks because journalists refused to ask him about his possible exit. The open secret is no longer a secret, the cards are on the table, Guardiola is gone. And as long as this had been hinted at, it was also clear, according to the media, who would inherit him: Enzo Maresca should apparently continue on the path to success.
Enzo Maresca was Chelsea FC coach until January 1, 2026.
Title thanks to financial support from the Emirates
Guardiola made Man City one of the most successful clubs in the world. Before his arrival, the club had won the championship four times in 80 years, and then six times with him. In the FA Cup he doubled the number of trophies to eight, but above all he won the “handle pot” in the Champions League for the “Skyblues” for the first time and made them club world champions. Most importantly, after United had ridiculed their local rivals for decades, Guardiola made City number one in Manchester.
The rise had already begun in 2008, when the Abu Dhabi United Group took over the club and endowed it with unimaginable financial opportunities. Manchester City became a seller’s club’s dream, paying huge millions for new players on the transfer market – often well above market value. Since then, clubs that rely on high transfer income have had hope that Man City would come knocking.
A lot of money and a lot made of it
The fact that Guardiola benefited so much from these circumstances is one of the major criticisms of him. At FC Barcelona, FC Bayern and Manchester he always worked with exceptional squads, which significantly reduces his achievements in one or the other. Even in the Premier League, opposing coaches and team managers repeatedly classified this. One reason why other teams have no chance is City’s financial superiority, which means the club can also ensure that it is superior in terms of sport.
Erling Haaland and Omar Marmoush (r.) are two of Manchester City’s many expensive transfers.
According to transfermarkt.de, the “Citizens” spent 2.05 billion euros on new players during the Guardiola era and had a transfer loss (sales deducted) of 1.09 billion euros. Among other things, 19 professionals came to Manchester who cost at least 50 million euros. So Guardiola could afford for one or two high-priced players to flop. But the star trainer was so successful because that was a rarity.
Pep Guardiola and Jürgen Klopp – best enemies
It’s one thing to have huge opportunities, but it’s quite another to make as much of them as Guardiola did. One person who often had to suffer from this was Jürgen Klopp. The two had – and probably still have – a very special relationship; for eight years they fought against each other for the top spot in English football. Most of the time Guardiola was the winner, if anyone could stop him it was Klopp.
Pep Guardiola (r.), Manchester City coach, speaks with Jürgen Klopp, Liverpool FC coach.
“I’ve never had an opponent where I spent so many nights and afternoons with my coaching staff trying to figure out how to stop them.”said Guardiola in the spring of 2025 about his duels with Klopp’s Liverpool FC. “There were days when I thought, ‘I’ve got him,’ and the next day he destroyed me again. He was by far the toughest opponent. Winning the championship against him is the biggest success we’ve achieved because of the impressive level.”
Perhaps that’s why Manchester City fell into a small hole after Klopp’s voluntary departure from Liverpool. The German coach has not been with the “Reds” since the 2024/25 season; both times Guardiola failed to be number one in the Premier League after winning six championship titles in seven years. After all: as a farewell gift, the 55-year-old gave his now ex-employer two more cup titles. So despite Arsenal FC’s championship, it’s a goodbye with a happy ending.
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