Pelatih asal Catalan ini, yang bergabung dengan City pada Juli 2016, telah memberikan dampak transformatif selama sepuluh tahun kepemimpinannya, dan akan meninggalkan klub setelah memenangkan 20 trofi utama - menjadikannya manajer paling sukses dalam sejarah kami.
Meskipun telah meninggalkan Manchester City sebagai manajer, Pep akan melanjutkan hubungannya dengan City Football Group, dengan mengambil peran sebagai Duta Global. Peran ini akan membuatnya memberikan nasihat teknis kepada klub-klub dalam grup, mengerjakan proyek dan kolaborasi khusus.
“Ketika saya tiba, wawancara pertama saya adalah dengan Noel Gallagher. Saya keluar sambil berpikir, ‘Oke… Noel ada di sini? Ini akan menyenangkan,’” kata Guardiola.
“Dan betapa menyenangkan waktu yang telah kami habiskan bersama. Jangan tanya saya alasan saya pergi. Tidak ada alasan, tetapi jauh di lubuk hati, saya tahu ini waktu saya. Tidak ada yang abadi, jika ada, saya akan berada di sini. Yang abadi adalah perasaan, orang-orang, kenangan, cinta yang saya miliki untuk Manchester City saya.
“Ini adalah kota yang dibangun dari kerja keras. Dari jerih payah.” Anda bisa melihatnya dari warna batu bata. Dari orang-orang yang datang lebih awal dan pulang lebih larut. Pabrik-pabrik. Keluarga Pankhurst. Serikat pekerja. Musik. Sederhananya, Revolusi Industri dan bagaimana hal itu mengubah dunia. Dan saya rasa saya memahami hal itu, dan tim saya juga.
“Kami bekerja. Kami menderita. Kami berjuang. Dan kami melakukan semuanya dengan cara kami sendiri. Cara kami.
“Kerja keras datang dalam berbagai bentuk. Perjalanan ke Bournemouth, ketika kami kalah di Premier League dan Anda ada di sana. Perjalanan ke Istanbul, ketika Anda juga ada di sana.
“Ingat, serangan di Manchester Arena, ketika kota ini menunjukkan kepada dunia seperti apa kekuatan sebenarnya? Bukan kemarahan. Bukan ketakutan. Hanya cinta. Komunitas. Kebersamaan. Sebuah kota yang bersatu.
“Ingat, kehilangan ibu saya selama COVID dan merasakan klub ini membantu saya melewatinya. Para penggemar, staf, warga Manchester, Anda memberi saya kekuatan ketika saya sangat membutuhkannya. Cris, anak-anak saya, seluruh keluarga saya, Anda selalu ada di sana. Khaldoon, Anda juga ada di sana.
“Para pemain tidak akan lupa - setiap saat, setiap momen, saya, staf saya, klub ini, semuanya. Apa yang telah kami lakukan, kami lakukan untuk kalian semua. Dan kalian sungguh luar biasa. Kalian belum menyadarinya, tetapi kalian sedang meninggalkan warisan.
“Jadi, saat waktu saya hampir berakhir, berbahagialah. Oasis kembali lagi.
“Hadirin sekalian, terima kasih telah mempercayai saya.
“Terima kasih telah mendorong saya.
“Terima kasih telah mencintai saya.
“Tony Walsh berkata dalam puisinya yang tak terlupakan, inilah tempatnya. Maaf, Tony: inilah tempatku.
“Noel…aku benar.
“Ini sangat menyenangkan.
“Aku sayang kalian semua.”
Reflecting on the news, Manchester City Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak said: “Over the last ten years honesty and trust have formed the bedrock on which we have navigated every situation together with Pep – always understanding that we could find the right answer together. Today the right answer is for Pep to finish his journey as the Manager of Manchester City.
“There have been points along the way when he could have stopped, and it would have been enough. Somehow, Pep always found new energy and pushed on, finding different and innovative ways to continue winning and delivering success.
“As a result, the Club has a decade of memories and success to be forever grateful for, and much more than that, an evolution that cannot be undone.
“The unique approach that he brings to his coaching has allowed him to constantly challenge the accepted truths of our game. It is the reason that in the last ten years he has not only made Manchester City better - he has also made football better.”
Manchester City Chief Executive Officer Ferran Soriano added: “We have been privileged to work alongside Pep Guardiola for 10 years. We have witnessed his greatness and dedication, but also enjoyed his companionship, his friendship and humanity. What a privilege it has been for so many of us at Manchester City!
“Pep’s legacy is extraordinary and its true impact will be better assessed by Manchester City historians of the future. He contributed decisively to our journey to global excellence and his high standards will be a reference for our players and managers of the future.
“If there is something more difficult than winning, it is winning again. It requires incredible persistence, resilience and the humility to start again every year, with the same energy, again and again. This is what Pep did.
“Nobody would have believed, ten years ago, that we could win 20 trophies in this decade, playing entertaining football of such high quality. It was unthinkable… and yet it was done.
“As we celebrate the past, we are also very happy to know that Pep will stay with the group and we will be able use his knowledge and experience in so many of our other clubs to help managers and players.
“We will forever be grateful to Pep and cherish so many unforgettable memories. He is a City legend… forever.”
Guardiola’s record of six Premier League titles, one UEFA Champions League, three FA Cups, five League Cups, one FIFA Club World Cup, one UEFA Super Cup and three FA Community Shields tells only some of the story.
Undoubtedly a Premier League icon – and widely considered one of the greatest managers ever to grace the game – Guardiola has not only won with remarkable consistency during his spell at City but has also set a series of hugely significant records along the way.
The 100 Premier League points City collected in 2017/18 is an all-time competition record. Other Premier League records tumbled that season, too, as City scored a record 106 goals, recorded the most wins (32), most away points (50), biggest goal difference (+79) and biggest winning margin (19 points) in Premier League history.
It’s a season that will surely stand the test of time as the greatest in the competition’s history.
But things got even better for City and Guardiola.
The following campaign, he led his side to Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup and Community Shield success, as we became the first team in the history of English football to win all four domestic trophies in a single season.
The 2022/23 campaign saw City become just the second English side to win the Treble of UEFA Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup - football’s Holy Grail. Indeed, the Treble season is viewed as the greatest in Manchester City’s 132-year history.
The UEFA Super Cup, collected in Athens after a shootout victory over Sevilla, and FIFA Club World Cup, won after a commanding 4-0 win over Fluminense in Jeddah, soon followed, meaning City became the first English side in history to win the game’s five biggest club prizes in a calendar year.
In 2023/24, Guardiola led City to a fourth Premier League title in a row, as we became the first club in the history of English football to win four top-flight titles in succession. What had previously been seen as impossible was now very much City’s reality.
And now, in what will be his final act as City Manager, Guardiola has signed off by winning both the FA Cup and Carabao Cup in his final season in charge.
In short, he has overseen the most glittering period in City’s history, and is, without question, the greatest Manager the Club has ever had. He leaves as City’s longest serving Manager surpassing Les McDowall when he takes charge of his 593rd and final game against Aston Villa on Sunday.
Pep’s achievements have seen him named Premier League Manager of the Season on five occasions and he has claimed the League Managers Association’s Manager of the Year award three times - more recognition of his sustained excellence at the very highest levels of the game.
Beyond the goals, records, milestones, awards and trophies, Guardiola has, in the eyes of many, changed the English game forever. His stylistic influence, felt across the English football pyramid, has been seismic, as City under his guidance have played with outstanding attacking finesse.
It is perhaps this profound impact that will be his lasting legacy.
Pep has also become an adopted Mancunian across his ten years at the Club, solidified in the summer of 2025 when he was awarded an honorary degree by the University of Manchester at a ceremony in the historic Whitworth Hall, recognising his extraordinary contribution to the city of Manchester.
Join us in the coming days when we will celebrate Guardiola’s time in charge as the club looks to deliver a fitting tribute and farewell to a transformative Manager who will remain part of the Manchester City family forever.
