Today the official statement came out, with a video of Pep Guardiola announcing his departure from Manchester City after 10 years at the club. And anyone who loves football understands exactly what this means. We are talking about a genius who constantly evolved and who, throughout this entire period, was practically unstoppable.
He dominated the best league in the world, at least for many people, and almost turned it into a monopoly. Not because there was no competition, but because, most of the time, he was simply operating at a level above everybody else.
Now, his future is completely uncertain. Nobody knows where he will go next, but one thing is clear: he is exhausted. And honestly, that is completely normal. Guardiola lives football every single day. He feels everything intensely, is constantly trying to innovate, improve and reinvent things, and that comes with a huge emotional, psychological and physical cost. The question is: could he move into international football? Honestly, it is difficult to imagine him in a situation where he only works with players occasionally. But at the same time, maybe that is exactly what he needs right now.
Meanwhile, the successor has already been chosen: Enzo Maresca. And this is where another doubt appears. I do not believe City will completely collapse the way we saw happen with other clubs after iconic managers left, like United after Ferguson, but at the same time, it is inevitable that this opens the door for rivals because the standard drops slightly. That does not mean Maresca is a bad manager, far from it. He did a good job at Chelsea and, honestly, left in a pretty unfair way. But there are levels to this. Guardiola is at the absolute top. Right now, there is simply nobody else like him.
Does that mean City stop competing for everything? I do not think so. The foundations are still there, the squad remains incredibly strong and much of what Guardiola built will continue. But it is not the same thing. Everybody knows that. This is a Manchester City side that spent 10 years entering every competition expecting to win it, and very often actually doing it.
And it is also true that some fatigue in the project had already started to appear. Even though they won both domestic cups this season, the team no longer dominated the same way it used to. They even went two seasons without winning the Premier League, which by their standards already raises questions.
Conclusion
Guardiola’s future is completely open, but the reality is simple: he can go wherever he wants. Literally any club or national team would want him. As for Manchester City, they are now entering a new era under Maresca. There is every chance it goes well, yes, but the biggest question is different: will people continue expecting them to win absolutely everything every year, or will everyone finally realise that without Guardiola, that level of dominance is no longer guaranteed?