Pep Guardiola told Man City players the manager who he wanted to replace him before he took another job

Pep Guardiola told Man City players the manager who he wanted to replace him before he took another job

The Spaniard is believed to have told his players exactly who the next Man City manager will be.

 

Pep Guardiola has reportedly suggested who he thinks should succeed him as Manchester City manager once he leaves the club.

 

 

After joining City ahead of the 2016/17 campaign, the Spanish manager has enjoyed incredible success at the Etihad, lifting five Premier League titles, a Champions League and several other trophies.

 

Therefore, the task of succeeding Guardiola at City seems almost completely impossible, with duplicating his success at the club likely an insurmountable task.

 

However, there is one manager that Guardiola himself believes could be the perfect replacement once he decides to leave Manchester City.

 

According to a report from The Telegraph last October, Guardiola believes that former Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi has all the ingredients to take over at the Citizens when he does decide to leave.

 

Earlier that year, after the Seagulls played out a 1-1 draw against City, the former Barcelona boss made his intentions clear as he approached three Brighton players while walking down the Amex Stadium tunnel.

 

Here, he nodded towards De Zerbi and said, “That’s the next Man City manager.”

 

 

And this isn’t the first time Guardiola has praised the Italian manager as, ahead of their 22/23 season clash on May 24, Pep labelled De Zerbi ‘one of the most influential managers in the last 20 years’.

 

 

“Pay attention to what I’m about to say because I’m convinced in what I’m saying that [Roberto De Zerbi] is one of the most influential managers in the last 20 years,” he said. “There is no team that plays the way they play, it’s unique.

 

 

“I had the feeling that when he arrived I had an idea the impact he would have on the Premier League would be great but I couldn’t expect him to do it in such a short time.

 

Image credit: Getty

“They create on average 20-25 chances per game. They monopolise the ball in a way that hasn’t been seen for a long time. Everybody is involved – the goalkeeper is like a holding midfielder.”

 

 

However, De Zerbi left Brighton the following year by mutual agreement following two years in the Premier League.

 

Shortly after he took over as manager of Ligue 1 club Marseille, signing a three-year deal with the French club.

 

But with Guardiola expected to remain at City for the foreseeable future, it is likely that the door remain open for De Zerbi to return to the Premier League sometime in the future.

 

Manchester United’s closest rivals in terms of proximity could be about to lose their key figurehead and Ineos must capitalise

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola

While Manchester United and Manchester City may well be close physically to each other, the figurative gap between the two clubs could not be greater.

 

 

United’s demise since the Sir Alex Ferguson era has coincided with the new world order in the Premier League being established. City have created a stronghold in English football that the likes of Jurgen Klopp and Mikel Arteta have struggled to break.

 

The Blues had become a force before Pep Guardiola arrived at the Etihad Stadium but they only truly became this all-conquering behemoth when the Catalonian arrived. After what would be nine years at City, the nightmare from a Reds perspective could soon be over.

 

The Times reports that the English FA made an informal approach for Guardiola at the beginning of the season in a bid to replace Gareth Southgate. By Guardiola’s own admission, any realistic option is still on the table – he could stay, he could leave.

 

But if he chooses to leave the Blues, suddenly the onus on Ineos and Sir Jim Ratcliffe becomes more pronounced. City without Guardiola are likely to suffer a transition period, whether it is as dramatic as United’s is uncertain but in the short term there is likely to be a power vacuum.

 

Arsenal and Liverpool will hope to be the favourites to capitalise on City taking their eye off the ball but United will be expected to position themselves as challengers again with their nearest rivals weakened. In order to do that, Ratcliffe and Co. will need to be confident of their plan moving forward which includes who will be in charge of the team.

 

Erik ten Hag’s future has been under intense scrutiny since Ineos arrived and the Dutchman remains on shaky ground despite appearing to have negotiated the October international break unscathed. If they are to stick with him, Ineos need to be confident that he is the man to mastermind a title challenge.

 

Should they choose to twist, the next manager is a huge appointment. Thomas Tuchel is currently the bookmaker’s favourite with Michael Carrick and Ruud van Nistelrooy fancied too.

 

Any of those options would be as much of a gamble as sticking with Ten Hag considering their lack of Premier League success albeit Tuchel’s resume is clearly more gleaming than that of the Dutchman’s. Ultimately the expectation will be that United are at least challenging for the major honours sooner rather than later no matter what happens with Guardiola but his exit from the Etihad Stadium shall only increase scrutiny on the Reds boardroom’s next move.