Breaking News: Man City Has Decided To Let Pep Go Away

Breaking News: Man City Has Decided To Let Pep Go Away

Etihad Stadium, 27 October 2025 – Manchester City Football Club has confirmed the mutual termination of Pep Guardiola’s contract with immediate effect, ending a nine-year dynasty that harvested six Premier League titles, two Champions Leagues, and a record 115-point domestic campaign. The announcement, delivered jointly by chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak and Guardiola himself at 09:00 GMT via a live-streamed press conference from the CFA’s glass atrium, follows a 3-1 home defeat to Brighton on Saturday that left the Citizens eighth after nine matches and exposed fractures too deep for even the Catalan alchemist to mend. Guardiola, visibly drained but composed in a charcoal suit, described the parting as “the right moment for both sides,” while Al Mubarak praised “the greatest managerial era in English football history.” The club has already activated a succession plan, with Girona’s Míchel Sánchez set to be unveiled as interim head coach for Wednesday’s Carabao Cup tie against Watford.

The fracture had been widening since pre-season. City’s summer rebuild—Haaland’s €150 million renewal, the €90 million capture of Florian Wirtz, and the sales of Kevin De Bruyne to Al-Nassr and Julián Álvarez to Atlético—promised evolution, yet the new spine faltered. Wirtz’s 4.9/10 rating against Brighton, Haaland’s goalless streak stretching to four games, and a midfield shorn of Rodri’s injured presence combined to produce City’s lowest possession figure (48 percent) in a decade. Guardiola’s post-match admission—“We are not ourselves; I am not myself”—was the first public crack. Sources inside the CFA reveal that the 54-year-old had privately informed Al Mubarak on 15 October, after a 2-0 Champions League loss to RB Leipzig, that “the fire is dimming.” A board vote on 24 October, held in Abu Dhabi, ratified the exit, with City agreeing to waive the final 18 months of his £20 million-a-year deal in exchange for a non-disclosure clause on internal tensions.

Financially, the separation is surgical. City’s Abu Dhabi owners absorb the £30 million severance hit, offset by projected £45 million in Champions League revenue retention—crucial after UEFA’s 2024 squad-cost fine. The club’s share price on the NYSE dipped 2.1 percent in pre-market trading, yet analysts at Goldman Sachs project a “Guardiola premium” rebound once Míchel’s high-pressing 3-4-3 beds in. The Spaniard, 43, arrives from Girona with a €12 million release clause already paid, bringing assistants Raúl Fernández and data scientist Valentí Guardiola—no relation. His brief: stabilise until May, then hand over to Xabi Alonso, whose Bayer Leverkusen contract contains a €15 million City-friendly exit for 2026.

Player reaction split along generational lines. Haaland, speaking outside the CFA, called Guardiola “the reason I score 50 goals a season” and pledged “one last push for him.” Phil Foden, the academy graduate who debuted under Pep in 2017, posted a monochrome photo of their 2018 title embrace with the caption “End of an era.” Yet younger voices—Wirtz, Savinho, and Rico Lewis—welcomed the reset, with Lewis telling MUTV that Míchel’s “intensity matches our hunger.” Rodri, still rehabbing in Barcelona, sent a voice note to the squad WhatsApp: “Pep built the machine; now we drive it.” The dressing room’s senior council—Walker, Stones, Gvardiol—met Al Mubarak at 07:00 to demand “no sentiment, only solutions,” securing a promise of January funds for a defensive midfielder, with Real Sociedad’s Martín Zubimendi the primary target.

Fan sentiment, measured by a club poll at 10:30, shows 71 percent acceptance, with 19 percent “devastated” and 10 percent “relieved.” The 1894 Group unfurled a tifo of Guardiola’s six Premier League trophies during the Brighton loss, a gesture repeated in miniature outside the Etihad this morning as 3,000 supporters gathered in drizzle. Chants of “Pep, Pep, Pep Guardiola” morphed into “Míchel, Míchel, blue and white” by the time the new coach’s motorcade arrived. The Cityzens’ Trust issued a statement thanking Guardiola for “turning hope into history” while urging “swift integration of youth—Mico McKenna and Jahmai Simpson-Pusey must start.”

Tactically, the shift is stark. Guardiola’s possession cathedral—73 percent average last season—gives way to Míchel’s vertical blitz, Girona’s 2.8 goals per game built on rapid transitions and full-back overloads. Training footage leaked this afternoon shows Lewis inverting into midfield beside Nunes, Gvardiol bombing forward, and Haaland paired with 18-year-old Argentine striker Valentino Peralta in a 3-4-1-2 drill. Guardiola’s final act was a 90-minute video session dissecting Brighton’s goals, his whiteboard still bearing the scrawl: “We press to suffocate, not to possess.” Míchel, watching from the sidelines, nodded and added: “We press to kill.”

Globally, the ripple is tidal. Barcelona, Liverpool, and Bayern Munich—all linked with Guardiola in 2023—issued respectful statements, while PSG’s Luis Enrique joked, “Pep’s free? I’ll take Haaland instead.” The Premier League loses its defining architect; Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football panel dedicated a 15-minute montage, Gary Neville declaring, “He didn’t just win—he rewrote the manual.” Bookmakers slashed odds on City finishing outside the top four to 6/1, yet Míchel’s Girona pedigree—62 points from a €30 million budget—fuels cautious optimism.

Logistically, the handover is seamless. Guardiola vacated his office at 06:00, leaving a handwritten note on the tactics board: “The pitch is yours. Make it sing.” Míchel’s first press conference is scheduled for 14:00 tomorrow, streamed on City+ and the official app. His debut lineup against Watford is expected to feature seven changes, with academy goalkeeper True Grant handed a bow. The January window, now £80 million deep, targets Zubimendi and a left-sided centre-back—Brighton’s Jan Paul van Hecke is the fallback if Leverkusen’s Jonathan Tah stalls.

For Guardiola, the future is open. A sabbatical is rumoured, with Brazil’s CBF sounding him out for the 2026 World Cup cycle—his Camp Nou ties and Haaland relationship make the Seleção a romantic fit. A Netflix documentary crew, embedded since 2023, captured his final training session; tears were shed as he embraced kit man Brandon Ashton, the only staff member present for all 494 matches. “I came to learn English football,” Guardiola said, voice cracking. “I leave fluent in its soul.”

As the Etihad lights dimmed on his era, the scoreboard flashed a simple message: “Thank you, Pep.” Nine years, 14 major trophies, 1,000 goals scored, one indelible legacy. Míchel inherits the keys to a Ferrari with a dented wing, but the engine still roars. Manchester City turns the page—not in farewell, but in gratitude. The sky remains blue; the story, eternal.