The Masterplan
What next for Pep Guardiola after 10 years in Manchester and why they should stick with Spanish for their next manager.
In an almost perfect example of time symmetry, 14 years after Pep Guardiola managed his final game for Barcelona, his time in charge of Manchester City was also coming to an end. The Spaniard has not only overseen the greatest period of success for the Citizens but has become so connected to the Manchester psyche that he is as important to the city as Oasis, the Industrial Revolution or Coronation Street. Whilst his designed move from Bayern Munich to Manchester City was a statement from the club, bringing the widely regarded ‘greatest manager’ to the city, nobody expected the Catalan to become a part of the fabric in the Manchester community.
Whilst the celebrations of this weekend will have naturally centred around the staggering 20 trophies he’s amassed over the last decade, including 6 Premier League titles and the much coveted UEFA Champions League in 2023, the tears being shed at the weekend were more akin to saying goodbye to a much cherished member of the family. The love of a family isn’t measured in silverware, it’s measured in memories - he would state as much in his leaving speech on Sunday.
“The luggage of memories I put inside is more than other. Without 20 trophies, they would have sacked me before, but you are not at home and see the trophies and say ‘Oh, how happy I am.’”
Whether it’s the dreamland of becoming the first Premier League team to amass 100 points; the first English team to win all four domestic trophies in a single campaign; becoming Treble Winners; watching Oasis reform whilst wearing his retro City shirt; or even the shared grief felt across the city in the aftermath of the 2017 Manchester Arena attack (which Pep’s Wife and daughter were caught up in), Pep has walked every step and breathed every breath in sync with a city that prides itself on community, resilience and heritage. He not only took the time to not only learn about Manchester’s history and culture, which he so eloquently demonstrated in his monoglots announcing his departure, but he embraced it all and formed a deep bond between himself, the club and the city of Manchester. So naturally, the question will be what’s next?
In this article, we want to explore what will be next for Pep Guardiola after decade where he achieved everything any man worth his salt will have dreamed of achieving, but also what next for Manchester City and perhaps why they should cast their eye for another Spaniard to take the helm post-Pep.
Unlike many other managers, Pep Guardiola has never been short of suitors. He is probably the first manager we’d ever heard of going on sabbatical - taking a year out to live in New York. Now after 10 years in Manchester, we imagine another rest will be on the cards, but what could the future hold for the man who has taken football to its next evolution…
The Top 5 Scenario
There is currently just one manager who can proclaim that they are a serial title winner across European football. Don Carlo Ancelotti is the only manager to win league titles in all of Europe’s top five leagues with Milan (Italy), Real Madrid (Spain), Chelsea (England), Bayern Munich (Germany) and Paris St-Germain (France). It is a mantle that will be difficult for any manager to take but if there was a manager who had the ability, it would be Pep.
While Luis Enrique is probably the closest challenger to the crown bestowed to Guardiola, we imagine his time in Paris will end when he decides (just like Pep) that it’s time for a fresh challenge somewhere else. PSG would prove to be a likely good fit for Pep Guardiola and a chance follow in the footsteps of Don Carlo. Whilst losing Enrique would be sad for PSG, there’s no doubt that Nasser Al-Khelaifi and his QSI colleagues would target Pep Guardiola as a superstar signing that can continue their success on both domestic and international fronts. For a French option, it would be the only option that could possibly afford Pep unless Bernard Arnault took his ambitious Paris FC project to the next level. However, without getting all geo-political, the close friendship Pep shares with Khaldoon Al Mubarak, City’s chairman and a man who holds many other job titles as a key representative of Abu Dhabi in the business world, it would be hard to see Pep move to a QSI project which is considered a notable rival to UAE interests.
Another option could be Italy. Whilst both Milan clubs and Juventus would match the profile that Pep has worked for in the past, there is something beautiful about the idea of him managing Napoli to a Scudetto. Whilst the pockets of Aurelio De Laurentiis aren’t as deep as those in the north, the almost mythical nature of Napoli as a club could lend itself to a manager who may now want to chase glory under different circumstances. Much like with the arrival of Maradona in 1984, the support Pep would receive almost instantly in the city under the shadow of Vesuvius would be incredible and it would no doubt be a short time before his image is immortalised on one of the many murals around the city.
However, if it was to be Italy he chose, there is another club he’s mentioned he would love to rejoin…
Back to Brescia
Pep Guardiola played for Brescia either side of a stint in the Italian capital with Roma. His decision to sign for the Lombardy club was mainly down to his desire to play alongside the legendary Roberto Baggio as well as work under the management of Carlo Mazzone. Under his stewardship, not only would be helped Pep & Co achieve mid table finishes in Serie A but the influence of Mazzone would go on to become a key pillar of Guardiola’s coaching philosophy. He would frequently cite his time under Mazzone a major inspiration and when the Italian passed away in 2023, he wore a t-shirt dedicated to him during City’s game with Newcastle.
Despite only being there for a combined total of 24 months, the city and the club left a mark on him and Guardiola maintains a deep affection for them both. He has on occasion expressed his desire to return to Brescia in some capacity and even paid a surprise visit to the Stadio Rigamonti to watch the reformed Union Brescia play in the lower tiers, following the clubs dissolution in 2025. It is even widely speculated that Pep has set his heart on managing the club one day, a desire shared by his former teammate Luca Toni.
Union Brescia find themselves just one step away from a ‘return’ to Serie B, should they win at home against Salernitana and no doubt Pep will have one eye on this fixture but possibly managing the club one day feels like a long stretch - though perhaps being involved in some form of ownership capacity sounds a lot less far-fetched.
The City Family
Would it be impossible to see Pep remaining within the stable of the City Football Group after a short stint of rest? Whilst Manchester City are the crown jewel of Sheikh Mansour, they are just one of 11 clubs within their portfolio. Whilst seeing Pep turning up at Shenzhen Peng City or Montevideo City Torque is unlikely, a possible role at any of New York City, Melbourne City or Yokohama Marinos could be a possible next step. The former would seem to be the most convincing option, with the CFG ambitions of MLS dominance placed on the back burner in recent seasons. Though, with the growth of Inter Miami as inspiration and the World Cup taking place on US soil this summer, there could be a renewed appetite to ‘crack America’ and what better statement to make than bringing the world’s greatest manager to the MLS.
Alternatively, Pep could take a leaf out of his former rival, Jürgen Klopp’s book and take a move upstairs. The City Football Group’s current managing director of global football, Brian Marwood, has just turned 66 years old and should he be thinking of taking a retirement, then could the opportunity for Guardiola to takeover as a head of global football ops be one where he could take his football philosophy to new heights, by imprinting it across 11 different teams.
The International Job
Perhaps following in the footsteps of Don Carlo once more might be the ideal next step of Pep Guardiola’s career? International football management has tended to be a little slower on the day to day activities but ultimately, more international sides are screaming out of the Guardiola-style manager who can build a brilliant squad mental cohesion as well as be tactically astute for both qualifying and tournament football.
Whilst the natural fit for Pep may be Spain, especially with him being the architect of the philosophy that has seen the nation dominate international football through this century, it probably wouldn’t be his first call. He made 47 appearances for Spain over his career and probably would have made more if he hadn’t fell out with Javier Clemente in 1996 and suffered an almost career ending injury in 1998. No, the possible misfit for him now with the Spanish national side is two-fold.
Firstly, the RFEF have adopted a new model following the fiasco of the 2018 World Cup where they are looking to promote from within. After Enrique had resigned, they turned to the under-21’s manager Luis de la Fuente and it wouldn’t surprise us if they turned to David Gordo to replace him if necessary. The second reason is the optics - Pep Guardiola has become an ever-growing face for Catalan Independence. He has never hidden his desire for an independent state of Catalunya and even made 7 appearances for the Catalonia football side during his playing days. His appearances at many independence rallies and even his admittance that he would participate in a pro-independence coalition back in 2015 means that he wouldn’t appear to be a unifying figure for the national side with so many strong regional identities.
However, don’t rule out a possible international role elsewhere and before Thomas Tuchel was appointed England manager, he was the preferred choice of the Football Association to replace Gareth Southgate. It would also be a good fit for Pep Guardiola too, using his now extensive knowledge of the English game to the benefit of the national team could be the difference going into the World Cup in his native Spain in 2030 and if he ever wanted to truly achieve immortal status on these shores, then bringing a World Cup to England for the first time since 1966 would certainly do that.
Whatever or wherever Pep Guardiola turns up next, you are guaranteed at least two things - a passionate, motivated and incredible manager AND then guaranteed success.
The Difficult Follow Up Album
So what of Manchester City? They should only look across town at the chaos that ensued following the loss of Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford as to how far a team can drop from their top shelf without a suitable replacement lined up. Whilst former Pep assistant, Enzo Maresca, is pretty much letting the ink dry on his contract to replace his former boss, we’d be possibly suggesting that a different Spanish manager could have been the better option for a new era after Guardiola.
Andoni Iraola’s availability appears to be flying under the radar at the moment, with really only Crystal Palace and as of today, AC Milan expressing an interest in bringing the Basque manager to their respective clubs. However what he has achieved with Bournemouth would rightly be considered a miracle in some circles, helping them this season qualify for Europe for the first time in their history. His tactics and philosophies are more or less aligned to Pep’s and he’s also from that mystical region of Gipuzkoa where the world’s best hail.
What Maresca does offer over Iraola is stability, he’s known around the club and it appears after today’s exodus of Pep’s backroom staff, he’ll be bringing in people he knows from his previous time as well. But, despite getting promoted with Leicester, his time with Chelsea showed that he isn’t infallible and like other Pep disciples, hasn’t found it plain sailing trying to replicate their Messiah’s teachings elsewhere. The worry would be he would struggle to fill the shoes that left before him and like many other big clubs who lose a long-term manager, quickly find themselves in a spiral trying to restore order with short term fixes. The other alternative is possibly Vincent Kompany but pulling him away from Bayern at the moment seems like an impossibility.
Whichever direction the club goes in next, they will always struggle to find someone of Pep Guardiola’s character, ability and brilliance. But as the Oasis song goes, it’s all part of The Masterplan.