Pep Guardiola Manchester City Exit: Why He’s Set to Leave This Summer After 10 Years

Manchester City are bracing for the end of an era. Pep Guardiola, who has reshaped English football across a decade at the Etihad Stadium, is expected to step down when the current season ends, according to sources within the club. The 55-year-old has repeatedly sidestepped questions about his future, but players and staff increasingly believe the decision has already been made.

Guardiola is under contract until 2027, but a break clause built into his current deal allows him to leave at the end of this campaign. Multiple sources have told ESPN that he intends to take that option. City officials have stopped short of confirming anything publicly — partly because the team is still alive in the Premier League title race, with one match left to play and Arsenal breathing down their necks.

If he does go, the succession plan is already quietly taking shape. Former Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca, who once worked under Guardiola at City, has emerged as the leading candidate. Here’s the full picture of where the Pep Guardiola Manchester City exit stands with one game to go.

What Sources Are Saying About Guardiola’s Exit

Sources close to Manchester City told ESPN that “nothing has changed” when pressed for an update on Monday — a carefully chosen non-denial that has only fuelled belief inside the dressing room that Guardiola is on his way out. A separate group of sources has confirmed the manager is expected to depart, with both players and staff now treating the summer exit as a working assumption rather than speculation.

The club’s silence is deliberate. With the Premier League title still mathematically in play, the City hierarchy has prioritised avoiding distraction. An official announcement, if there is one, will wait until after the season concludes — and possibly until after the planned end-of-season celebrations have taken place.

Why the Break Clause Matters

The key to Guardiola’s situation sits in the contract he signed at the Etihad. While the deal runs until 2027, it includes a break clause that activates at the end of the current season — giving him a clean, pre-agreed exit window.

• Contract end date: 2027
• Break clause trigger: End of the 2025-26 season
• Tenure if he leaves now: 10 years at Manchester City
• Age: 55

That structure was always designed to give Guardiola flexibility. He has been candid in recent years about the toll of elite-level management, and people around him have long suspected that a decade in Manchester would mark a natural stopping point. The 2027 contract was never meant to lock him in — it was meant to give him the option of staying if he wanted to, while preserving an honest exit route if he didn’t.

Enzo Maresca Leads the Succession Race

Sources have told ESPN that Maresca is City’s first choice to take over. The Italian left Chelsea in January after a turbulent spell at Stamford Bridge, but his earlier work at the Etihad — as Guardiola’s assistant before his first head coach role — makes him a natural fit for a club that prizes tactical continuity.

Maresca’s appeal to City’s hierarchy is straightforward:

• He already knows the squad, the staff, and the building
• His coaching philosophy is rooted in the same possession-based principles Guardiola installed
• He is currently available, having departed Chelsea earlier in the year
• He has already been sounded out about the role, suggesting conversations are at an exploratory stage

Other names will inevitably surface in the coming weeks, but Maresca is the front-runner — and the only candidate that sources have specifically named as having been contacted.

The Premier League Title Race That Won’t Go Quietly

While Guardiola’s future dominates the off-pitch conversation, his final full week in charge could still produce a fourth Premier League title in five seasons. Arsenal beat Burnley 1-0 at the Emirates on Monday, ratcheting up the pressure. City must now beat Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Tuesday to keep the race alive into the final day.

The math is unforgiving:

• If City win at Bournemouth: The title race goes to the final matchday against Aston Villa
• If City drop points: Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal are crowned Premier League champions for the first time since 2004

That backdrop is part of why the club is reluctant to address Guardiola’s future publicly. A confirmed departure announcement in title-race week would dominate the news cycle at exactly the moment focus is needed elsewhere.

A 10-Year Legacy Already Being Honoured

Whatever happens at Bournemouth, Guardiola has already added to a trophy haul that defines the modern Manchester City era. His 1-0 win over Chelsea in Saturday’s FA Cup final delivered his 20th trophy as City manager — a tally no coach has matched at a single English club in the modern era.

The club’s response to that milestone tells its own story. A celebration event has been scheduled for the day after the final league game against Aston Villa, parading both the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup — the latter won against Arsenal in March. City are also set to rename a stand at the Etihad Stadium in Guardiola’s honour, a permanent acknowledgement that is rarely arranged for managers expected to be around much longer.

That gesture, more than any sourced report, hints at how the club privately expects this story to end.

What Happens Next

The most likely sequence is now coming into focus. Guardiola finishes the season — possibly with a fourth Premier League title in five years — Manchester City stage their double-trophy parade, the new stand is unveiled, and only then does the manager confirm what those around him already accept. A formal Maresca approach would follow once compensation and contract details are settled.

City’s reluctance to confirm anything before the season ends reflects priorities, not uncertainty. The decision, by every available indication, has been made. What’s being managed now is the announcement, not the choice.

For now, Guardiola has one more match to keep the title race alive — and, if he goes out as expected, one more chance to leave Manchester City on the highest possible note.