Pep Guardiola had some moments of relaxation during the FIFA Days in September, when he left behind two Premier League defeats against Tottenham and Brighton. The Spaniard traveled to the US to watch the US Open final, then cheered for Tommy Fleetwood at a golf tournament. The last time people saw Pep so free was in 2012.
Pep needs a real break, especially after a recent failed season, as well as a bad start in the 2025-2026 campaign. At the age of 54 and having been at the top for 16 consecutive years, Pep once said that he may be out for a period of up to 15 years after leaving Man City (the current contract is valid until 2027).
After 9 years and 2 months, Pep became the 4th longest-serving coach in Premier League history. The Spaniard has won 18 titles with the Etihad team. You have enough, but is there a missing thing as important as the decision to leave when you are still at the top? In the summer of 2024, Pep closed the Premier League with his 4th consecutive championship, which no one could do. However, just one year later, his team was left empty-handed, only holding on to a ticket to the Champions League this season.
Sir Alex Ferguson left Man United at the peak of his career when he helped the team win the English championship for the 20th time. As for Pep, he is taking over an ancient empire and is gradually finding new factors to rebuild it from the beginning. Pep could well use Klopp's method, saying goodbye at his peak with the reason of running out of energy. However, he continued and was receiving failures.
Previously, Arsene Wenger was very successful with Arsenal but in the end, he had to leave the team before the "Wenger Out" banners appeared all over the world. As for Pep, he experienced the feeling of being booed by fans with his students in the match against Feyenoord in the Champions League last season. If they lose to Man United at the Etihad this weekend, will those sounds be repeated?
The new season has started 3 rounds and it is too early to talk about Man City's final result. However, only Man United of 32 years ago was the team that lost 2/3 of the first matches but still won the championship, can Pep repeat that achievement? Since the loss to Al-Hilal at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025, people have never seen Man City so weak and unstable.
Pep's team is no longer as charming and majestic as before. After the defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League last season, Pep himself admitted that the tactics he worked hard to build for Man City were no longer effective.
When Pep first came to Man City, it took him a season to gradually build an empire. This time, will the 54-year-old strategist still have enough intelligence and luck to take another step of success? This is extremely difficult when other coaches do not stop and continue to develop. Thomas Frank (Tottenham) and Fabian Hürzeler (Brighton) defeated Pep without luck. They used tactics and methods to apply the factors they had in hand and won completely well.
15/23 players on the list of registered players for the 2023 Champions League final have left the Etihad Stadium. Some of the remaining people, such as Bernardo Silva and John Stones, are all 31 years old and are uncertain to stay after the summer of 2026. Newcomers such as Abdukodir Khusanov and Nico Gonzalez cannot replace Kyle Walker and Rodri.
When Jurgen Klopp left Liverpool, he knew for sure that he had left Anfield with a solid foundation. As for Pep Guardiola, if he leaves the team in the summer of 2026, or even 2027, it is uncertain whether the remaining foundation will be strong enough.
At this time, after Pep had a period of free time, Man City fans hope that he will resolve the current backlog because it is not so serious that it cannot be saved. The only thing is, when he felt that other opponents had caught up, was Pep still strong enough to race for another school trip?
