Pep Guardiola shares retirement plan as Man City boss admits 'I'm going to stop'

The Manchester City boss spoke honestly about his future.

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has opened up about his future

Pep Guardiola has vowed to “stop” managing after his Manchester City contract expires in two years time. The Catalan coach has established himself as one of the most successful managers in Premier League history, winning six titles since arriving at City in 2016.

There had been a fear among some at City that Guardiola would end his nine-year stint at the club this summer, with his contract having been due to expire at the end of the campaign. Those worries were put to rest when the 54-year-old put pen to paper on fresh terms, seeing his stay extend through until 2027.

But, as the 2024/25 campaign begins to come to a close, Guardiola has issued a new update on his future plans, hinting he could give up management altogether. Speaking to ESPN Brasil, the City chief explained: "I want people to remember me however they want. After my contract with City, I'm going to stop. I'm sure. I don't know if I'm going to retire, but I'm going to take a break. How I want to be remembered, I don't know.”

He added: "All coaches want to win so we can have a memorable job, but I believe that the fans of Barcelona, Bayern Munich and City had fun watching my teams play. I don't think we should ever live thinking about whether we're going to be remembered. When we die, our families cry for two or three days and then that's it -- you're forgotten. In the careers of coaches, there are good and bad ones, the important thing is that the good ones are remembered for longer.

"I'll tell you that the most important thing is not what people think of you, after all, our lives as footballers have been very good. There are new challenges as a coach, I don't know what will happen in the future and in the end that doesn't matter."

It comes as City find themselves in the midst of a cutthroat battle for Champions League qualification, as well as their third successive FA Cup final. Having entered the season as reigning Premier League champions, they’d have expected more from their campaign, but Guardiola is still committed to rescuing as much as he can from it.

Guardiola mused: "It was a year of great learning. There is not just one reason why this year was difficult, there are many details, like wrong decisions made for me. So, it has been a year of great learning for me, personally.

"People think we learn more from defeats than from victories. But I also think I learn from victories. I knew there would be a moment when we would fall, but we fell a lot. We didn't expect to be so far, but we can't win them all. What we did during 10, nine years was exceptional, but now we have to sit down and learn to try to understand what we need to produce in the future.”