Who will Pep Guardiola manage next? Surprise national team job among options for departing Man City boss
Having taken a sabbatical between coaching jobs before, Pep Guardiola is expected to take another break from management after leaving Manchester City
The impending announcement of Pep Guardiola ’s departure from Manchester City has sent shock waves through the football world, with the Catalan expected to call time on his decade with the club this summer. The 55-year-old’s exit is set to be announced at this Sunday’s Premier League finale, when City play Aston Villa, with another title still mathematically possible for Guardiola’s trophy-winning machines. In his 10-year spell at the club Guardiola has won 17 major trophies, 20 in all, including six top-flight titles and a treble of Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup triumphs in 2022/23.
The most recent trophies won by Guardiola’s side are the 2025/26 Carabao and FA Cups with City completing a domestic cup double last weekend having beaten Chelsea 1-0 in the FA Cup final at Wembley. Guardiola’s decision to leave the club leaves City with a gaping void to fill, but also opens up questions as to where he will go next. If he does leave as expected he would likely be set for a break from football, similar to how he took time off between periods at Barcelona and Bayern Munich from 2012-13.
He managed Barcelona for four years until 2012 and after a one-year sabbatical, which he spent in New York, decided to return to coaching. He took charge of the German giants and spent a successful three years there before joining City. While a break of some description is expected, it is thought Guardiola would be more inclined to turn to national team management rather than take charge at another club.
In late 2024 he told Dani Garcia in a YouTube interview on his Desmontadito channel : “A time will come when I feel it’s enough and I’ll definitely stop then. “I’m not going to manage another team. I’m not talking about the long-term future but what I’m not going to do is leave Manchester City and go to another country to do the same thing as I am now.