Pep Guardiola will close a 10-year chapter at Manchester City. As announced by the English press in recent days, the 55-year-old coach will not end his contract. A year before his deadline, the former conductor of FC Barcelona chose to leave the Skyblues. The end of an exceptional journey that began in 2016 and ended ten years later with twenty trophies in the bag, including a Champions League and six English championship titles. After the official announcement, Guardiola was eagerly awaited for his press conference, two days before the Aston Villa reception, to explain himself.
“I’m really happy. I can’t find the right words. I am happy and proud. This is the experience of my life, otherwise it wouldn’t be ten years. I couldn’t be more grateful for all the love and affection, not just today, but for many, many years. It’s time. It’s not like I fall asleep one day and the next day I’m like, “Now’s the time.” It’s a process, I’ve been feeling it for a while. The club respects me, it respects my decision. The club must be ready. Now I have to live my life and see what happens. The club needs a new coach, new energy, with these incredible players we have at the moment. And start writing a new chapter »he confided before talking about his future.
“I don’t plan on training for a while.”
As a reminder, Manchester City specified in its press release that Guardiola had been appointed ambassador of the City Football Group. A position accepted by the Spaniard. “When we talked about it (with the leaders, editor’s note), I told them that I would love to continue to be part of this club. Not as a coach. I won’t make any decisions. Just to be part of the club, to represent it. Not in daily decisions, not in front of the team, always behind the scenes”he confided, before indicating that he should not return to the sidelines for a good while.
“I don’t plan on training for a while. Otherwise, I would be here. I need to take a step back. I won’t be training for a while. I feel like I won’t have the energy every day, with the expectation of fighting for the title. I know myself, I have this energy, but I feel like I won’t have it (in the future). Many people tell me: “After three months, you will come back. » I answer: “Maybe.” » I don’t think so, it’ll take me a while. But I have to prove it to myself. It’s not just 10 years here, I’ve worked every third day for so many years. People are calling for trebles, Premier League titles. I need to breathe a little and relax. » As a reminder, Pep Guardiola stopped his coaching career for a year after leaving FC Barcelona in 2012, before moving on to Bayern Munich (2013-2016) and Manchester City (2016-2026). Will the Catalan take more time to return?
