Guardiola to conclude Manchester City tenure with Aston Villa fixture
Pep Guardiola will oversee his final match on Sunday, ending a decade that delivered six Premier League titles and a Champions League, while leaving one year remaining on his contract to assume a global ambassador role.
Manchester City has confirmed that Pep Guardiola will coach his final match on Sunday against Aston Villa, marking the end of a ten-year tenure at the Etihad Stadium. The 55-year-old departs as the club’s most successful manager, having overseen a period of unprecedented dominance that included six Premier League titles, three FA Cups, five EFL Cups, and the 2023 Champions League.
The announcement follows a difficult conclusion to the 2025-26 season, where City missed out on the Premier League title to Arsenal. A 1-1 draw at Bournemouth three days prior handed the championship to their rivals, meaning Guardiola missed out on league titles in consecutive seasons for the first time in his managerial career. Despite the recent setback, the club affirmed his status as a transformative figure in English football, noting that only one other season, 2024-25, had seen him fail to win a trophy since his arrival in February 2016.
Guardiola leaves with one year remaining on a contract he signed in November 2024, which was set to run until the end of the 2026-27 season. When asked about the decision to depart early, he declined to provide specific strategic reasons, stating simply that "it's my time" and that "nothing is eternal." Instead, he focused on the institutional legacy, describing the club as a place of "love," "community," and "togetherness," while paying tribute to the resilience of Manchester following the Arena attack.
In a shift from the dugout, the club confirmed that Guardiola will assume the role of global ambassador for City Football Group, an organisation comprising 11 clubs worldwide. This move allows the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss to remain within the institutional framework he helped build, transitioning from active management to a broader strategic and representative capacity within the group.
Enzo Maresca is expected to succeed Guardiola as head coach. The former Chelsea manager previously served as an assistant at the Etihad during the 2022-23 season and has managed the club’s elite development squad. His appointment follows a decade of stability for City, which saw the team set records for points and goals in 2017-18, become the second English team to win the Treble, and the first to secure four consecutive league titles by 2023-24.
Guardiola’s farewell message also touched on his personal connection to the city, referencing the return of the band Oasis and a past meeting with guitarist Noel Gallagher. He thanked supporters for their trust and pushed, closing his address with a personal note to Gallagher, stating, "It has been so f---ing fun." The club’s leadership has framed his departure not as a failure, but as the natural conclusion of a historic era defined by sporting excellence and civic pride.
