27/05/2026

SPORTS WEDNESDAY | MAY 27, 2026

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Pep’s perfect exit

‘Be yourself’ Guardiola tells Maresca

The Klopp parallel that comes with Guardiola’s decision to leave City

Ű BY RICHARD JOLLY

phone call from Kevin means everything to me.” When the expanded North Stand at the Etihad Stadium becomes the Pep Guardiola Stand, it will have plenty of meaning, too. The Catalan likes the thought that his father, Valenti, can see his surname there. “I like to feel that my vibe or my energy will be there forever,” said the younger Guardiola. He is adamant, though, that he has to go. Jurgen Klopp, forever his greatest rival, decided to leave Liverpool when he felt he was running out of energy. That was Guardiola’s conclusion, too. “I feel I would not have the energy that is required [to continue],” he said. “I think the club needs a new manager, new energy. Start to write another chapter. I think it’s not good in an organisation to have people for many, many years. It’s good to shake, to move, a new face.” That new face is likely to be Enzo Maresca, Guardiola’s former assistant. The 55-year-old won’t be jumping into a new job. For 17 or 18 years, he said, apart from his sabbatical in New York in 2012/13, he has had a game every three days. Suddenly, the diary is blank. “Now rest,” he said. “No plans to train for a while. I have to live my life and see what happens. I need to breathe a little bit and relax. I’ll be away for a while.” Whether Guardiola can switch off, whether a man as intense as him can adopt a laidback attitude to life, remains to be seen. But even though he does not bequeath a title-winning team, he goes having won both domestic cups this season and made consider able progress in a rebuilding job. “It’s the perfect moment, the perfect time,” he said. “Much better than last season, for example.” Whether he might have gone then, but for the run of nine defeats in 12 games and the most troubled time of his managerial career, is a moot point. Instead, he takes his leave on a high, taking heart from Maresca’s inheritance. “The institution has incredible health, so it’s in a good position,” he said. The only problem with going, it transpires, was tell ing his players. “The speech was a disaster. I was so nervous,” he said. There was life at City before him, as he knows. “So 93 (minutes), 20 seconds, that goal is the biggest moment of this club,” he said, citing Sergio Aguero’s title-winning strike in 2012. “And that is legacy.” Guardiola leaves one, too. He has changed City’s history, changed their identity. A man who came to like much about Manchester befriended the Oasis guitarist. “There is one sentence now coming to my memory, talking with Noel Gallagher,” he recalled. “He said one day: ‘Many years ago, we were a team that were not able to win four games in a row. And now we are going (to win) four Premier League in a row.’ And I said, ‘Wow, that is a good sentence.’” It feels a suitable final word. And then, for Guardiola and City alike, time for a new chapter. – The Independent (Bernardo Silva) and all these incredible legends like Vinny (Vincent Kompany), Fernandinho, Eddy (Ederson), Jack (Grealish), all of them and many, many more. “I feel tonight that really shows the connec tion this club has. (City chairman) Khaldoon Al Mubarak and all the people and all the City fans that were connected from the first minute. “Thank you so much, I don’t have enough gratitude. Always, for the rest of my life, I will have you in my heart. Thank you so much.” – AFP

Kevin De Bruyne, from Manuel Akanji. He will have to ring Ferguson back; the Scottish accent was too strong to fully decipher the voice note. Guardiola shrugged off sugges tions he is the game’s finest ever manager and deferred to Ferguson. “He’s the greatest in this country,” he said. “I miss a lot Johan Cruyff, who’s not able to wit ness what we live. I’m happy that Sir Alex Ferguson, the greatest, could.” Guardiola has shifted the balance of power in Manchester decisively in City’s favour. He knows what Ferguson used to call them. He thinks the adjective needs to be removed. “Sir Alex, we are not the noisy neighbours,” said Guardiola. “We are the neighbours, just the neighbours.” If six League titles in his decade have given City plenty of reasons to turn

I CAME for three years and said, ‘Let’s see what happens,’” said Pep Guardiola. “And the rest is history.” On Sunday, it was his tory: the 10 years, the 20 trophies, the records, the feats that mean he will go with a stand named after him and a statue commissioned to cele brate him.

PEP GUARDIOLA said he will call his successor at Manchester City to offer advice after bringing down the curtain on a glorious decade on Sunday that transformed the club’s standing. A 2-1 defeat by Aston Villa did little to dampen the spirits of the City fans who turned out to pay homage to the Catalan, who hoo vered up 20 trophies in 10 seasons at the Etihad Stadium. One of Guardiola’s former assis tants and ex-Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca is set to take over and fill the enormous shoes left by the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach. “When the club will tell me which one it is, of course I will call him,” said Guardiola. “I will tell him the same like I said (before), ‘be yourself’. The club will support you unconditionally. “That is the biggest compliment, or the biggest luck that all the managers here will have. “You have to protect it more than any other club. Be free and with your ideas go there. Work a lot and everything will be fine.” Guardiola announced his decision to depart on Friday, less than three days on from City missing out on the Premier League title to Arsenal. But

Guardiola can be defined by the medals. Last week, though, he has been think ing about the messages. From Sir Alex Ferguson, f r o m

up the volume, a nostalgic Guardiola focused on the people more than the prizes.

“Being a manager, you have to win and that’s why I’ve been (here) 10 years. But a part of that is not just that. So t h a t ’ s w h y t h e

his final season at City still yielded a League Cup and FA Cup double and he leaves the club with a refreshed squad that should still be capable of compet ing for honours following his departure from the Etihad. Guardiola made his entrance on Sunday to a rousing reception along side a giant banner bearing his face and the message “Game changer. History maker. City forever.” Catalan flags were unfurled behind one goal, while at the other end the newly named and expanded Pep Guardiola Stand was in operation for the first time. The 55-year-old was moved to tears when Bernardo Silva was given a guard of honour by both sets of players as he was replaced in the second half. After 19 seasons of combined service, lengthy tributes were also paid to Silva and John Stones on their final appearances for the club. “I don’t cry, but when I see Bernardo cry, I cry,” added Guardiola. Together Guardiola, Silva and Stones won six Premier League titles and the club’s only Champions League in 2023 among 17 major trophies. – AFP

Pep Guardiola (left) and Bernardo Silva embrace after their final match together for Man City on Sunday. – REUTERSPIC

NBA’s all-time great Jordan salutes City boss at farewell party

BASKETBALL legend Michael Jordan joined thousands of Manchester City fans paying trib ute to Pep Guardiola at the manager’s farewell party yesterday. Guardiola is about to step down after a glori ous decade in charge of City and the Premier League club gave him a fitting send-off during a trophy parade in Manchester. Jordan, one of the NBA’s all-time greats, was a surprise participant in the event, delivering a recorded video message saluting Guardiola.

and staff on an open-top bus ride to the Etihad Stadium. A host of current and former City players brought every trophy won during Guardiola’s reign onto the Co-op Live stage to cheers from the sell out 19,000 crowd. Guardiola said good bye for the final time in an interview with Oasis rock star Noel Gallagher at the after-party. “I think, first of all, thank you so much for coming tonight to say bye,” Guardiola said. “To say bye to John (Stones) and Bernie

“Hey Pep. This is Michael Jordan. I just wanted to congratulate you on an unbelievable career,” the former Chicago Bulls star said as Guardiola watched the video on a screen inside the Co-op Live after-party following the parade. Referencing Guardiola’s fondness for golf, Jordan quipped “Enjoy your retirement. Good luck on the links and keep them straight. Congratulations.” Earlier, fans lined the streets to salute Guardiola as the Spaniard joined City’s players