Pep Guardiola has now officially confirmed what the media has been reporting for some time – that his last club is Manchester City. The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss got into football management in 2008, after a stint as the manager of Barcelona Athletic, then known as Barcelona B. Since then, he has built a reputation for himself with his innovative style of football that is built upon the foundations laid by legends like Johan Cruijff, Marcelo Bielsa and Ariggo Sacchi.
In that time, he has only lost a league title thrice, which makes him the most successful league manager to have ever graced the sport. He has also won three UEFA Champions League titles and a host of domestic trophies. His individual awards cabinet is just as stacked, winning many manager of the month awards and manager of the season awards.
Manchester City, however, has been his longest gig. He has served at the Etihad for nine years, and is set to serve another two before his contract runs out. This has led to speculations over what he intends to do next.
As stated earlier, it has long been speculated that the Spaniard is leaning towards managing a national team after Manchester City. There were rumours, in fact, of the Three Lions of England and the Brazil national team courting him to be their next manager. Neither report held water but it is now certain, per his confirmation, that a national team is his next challenge after Manchester City.
“At some point I will feel like it’s enough and at that moment I will stop for sure,” Guardiola told the Desmontadito YouTube channel. “I’m going to stop. I am not going to join another team, I’m not going to leave to go to another country [for a club]. I won’t have the energy. Now I’m still here, but to think about starting again, the whole process of training – no, no.
“Yes, it could be, but that’s different. It’s not every day [training], every three days [playing]. I think I would have to stop [from the daily cycle]. To rest, to see what we have done, what we can do better, because day-to-day we don’t have much time to rest. It’s continuous and to rest I think would be good for me. But right now, no, right now I’m here.”
His next challenge is Juventus in the UEFA Champions League. Guardiola remains without the injured defenders Nathan Aké, John Stones and Manuel Akanji. Phil Foden and Mateo Kovacic travelled to Turin but only the latter may play a part.
