Pep Guardiola leaves Man City – latest: ‘Deal agreed’ with replacement ahead of shock exit announcement

With Pep Guardiola set to leave Man City this week, here’s a few memorable moments from his tenure at the Etihad Stadium:

Selling Joe Hart (Summer 2016)

From the outset, Guardiola demonstrated his uncompromising vision. In the summer of 2016, he controversially sidelined England’s number one goalkeeper, Joe Hart, deeming him unsuitable for his possession-based style.

This ruthless decision, initially questioned when replacement Claudio Bravo struggled, was ultimately vindicated by the arrival of Ederson, establishing a new cultural standard for the club.

Pep Guardiola has not addressed his own future expect to reiterate that he has another year on his current contract.

But, following the FA Cup final win he did speak about what he sees in the future for his players.

“The future is bright,” he said. “I know the guys, I know how they feel, the commitment for the club, very professional.

“I’m pretty sure we’ll be there in the next years.”

Following last weekend’s FA Cup win over Chelsea, Pep Guardiola took a moment to reflect on his tenure at Manchester City.

“Yeah, of course, 19 titles in 10 years is not bad,” he mused.

“They [the fans] know they don’t need to wait until I’m leaving, they know I have been fun.

“So 19 titles – fight for 20 in 10 years – it’s not bad, honestly.”

Since leaving Chelsea back in January, Enzo Maresca has not managed any club.

However, he spoke to Sky Sport Italia recently about his return to management but avoiding mentioning Manchester City.

“I feel ready for the next chapter, that is the most important thing,” Maresca said.

“What matters, regardless of the club, is being ready.

“There are only a few weeks left until the end of the season, then we’ll see what happens.”

Enzo Maresca’s name is at the very top of possible replacements for Pep Guardiola in rumours going back all the way to January.

Fabrizio Romano is reporting that there is even a ‘verbal agreement’ in place between Maresca and the club over a potential three year deal.

In his conversation with Betfair Alan Shearer was asked who he sees as Guardiola’s replacement.

He said: “If you believe the rumours then Maresca is ready to walk in there at Man City after Pep. Good luck, it will be an incredibly difficult job, we’ve seen over the years how tough it is to follow a great manager, and Pep is one of the greatest.

“It might give everyone else a chance now, but I’ll be sad to see him leave because without a doubt he has been incredible for the Premier League.”

Alan Shearer is one of many football pundits to give his reaction to the news that Pep Guardiola will be leaving Man City.

He spoke to Betfair and called Guardiola one of the greatest the Premier League has ever seen.

“The news has broken that Pep Guardiola looks set to leave Manchester City at the end of the season and I’m not entirely surprised, there have been one or two rumours circulating for a while,” Shearer said.

“What a man, what a manager. He’s brought huge, huge success to Manchester City in his own way, in his own style. I know he’s had incredible wealth behind it but there’s one thing having that and it’s another delivering, and that’s exactly what he’s done.

“He’s a lovely guy, certainly down to earth, he’s always been very amicable, very open and always willing to have a conversation.

“He’s delivered trophy after trophy after trophy, and his teams have been incredible to watch.

“He’s been one of the best, if not the best we’ve ever seen. We didn’t think anyone would get near Sir Alex Ferguson, but he has without a doubt, and some will argue that he’s even better.”

Before any exit for Pep Guardiola, he and City will have another chance to win the Premier League but they have a tough task on their hands.

They trail Arsenal by five points with two games to go and must win both of their remaining matches.

Ahead of tonight’s clash with Bournemouth Guardiola said: “We have three days, they have ten days to prepare for the game.

“They are playing to qualify for the Champions League. When you arrive in the last fixtures and the opponent doesn’t play for anything it’s easier but that is not the case.

“It is what it is. We know exactly what we have to do. It’s not complicated, we have to win and then against Aston Villa.

“All we want is to be with our people at the end and try to fight for the title and extend it to Aston Villa. To do that we need to beat Bournemouth.”

Enzo Maresca is the clear frontrunner to replace Pep Guardiola and there are even reports out there that he has already agreed to join the club.

However, City have an apparant shortlist of four names with the other three being:

These all make sense as Iraola and Glasner have impressed at Bournemouth and Crystal Palace and are leaving their respective clubs this summer.

Kompany, meanwhile, is a former Man City captain who played under Guardiola and has done a fine job with Bayern Munich who have won the Bundesliga in each of the last two years.