Guardiola Announces Planned Hiatus from Coaching Following Departure from Manchester City

Pep Guardiola has revealed that he intends to take a step back from football once he departs from Manchester City, although he remains uncertain about whether he will actually retire from the sport.

The 54-year-old manager extended his contract for another two years in November, which will see him stay at the Etihad Stadium until June 2027, marking an impressive 11-year tenure since his arrival at the club.

This tenure is significantly the longest of his managerial career, having previously spent four years at Barcelona, where he also played, and three years in charge of Bayern Munich.

Guardiola has overseen a remarkable era of success at City, clinching six Premier League titles and securing the club’s first Champions League trophy as part of a treble during the 2022/23 season. However, this current season has posed challenges.

“Once my contract with City concludes, I will definitely take a break. That much I’m certain,” Guardiola shared with ESPN. “As for retirement, I’m not sure, but I will step away for a while. I’m not certain how I wish to be remembered.”

“Every coach strives for victories to leave a remarkable legacy, but I believe that the supporters of Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and City enjoyed watching my teams in action. We shouldn’t live our lives constantly worrying about how we’ll be remembered.”

“When we pass away, our loved ones might grieve for a couple of days and then life moves on – we become a memory. Throughout a coach’s career, there will be ups and downs; what matters is that the positive moments are remembered longer.”

Currently sitting in fourth place, City, who are set to face Wolves this Friday, were once tipped to secure a fifth consecutive Premier League title but have experienced a significant downturn in form.

With only four league matches remaining this season, they find themselves a staggering 21 points adrift of champions Liverpool and are now engaged in a battle for a Champions League spot for the upcoming season.

Guardiola, whose side has reached the FA Cup final for the third successive year against Crystal Palace, described this season as a period of “valuable lessons” and admitted he did not foresee the extent of City’s decline.

“I anticipated there would be a time when we would falter, but the fall has been substantial,” he noted. “We didn’t expect to be in such a difficult position, but we can’t win them all.”

“What we achieved over the last 10 or nine years has been exceptional, but now we must reflect and learn to understand what we need to improve moving forward.”

Guardiola previously mentioned in December that he wouldn’t “take on another team” after leaving City, although he did not rule out the possibility of coaching at the national level.