Analysing five potential managers as Pep Guardiola told to QUIT by Etihad ally

Pep Guardiola has been told why he should consider leaving Manchester City before the end of his contract by performance analyst Carles Planchart, and TEAMtalk has examined five potential candidates for the Etihad hot seat.

Guardiola has revolutionised both Man City and English football as a whole since his arrival in summer 2016. He has steered City towards an unprecedented era of success, winning six Premier League titles – including an historic four in a row – one Champions League, two FA Cups and four League Cups, plus other silverware.

Some of City’s greatest achievements under Guardiola include the Premier League’s only 100-point season in 2017-18, plus the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup treble of 2022-23.

City have done remarkably well to keep Guardiola for nine years and counting, considering he only spent four years at Barcelona and three years at Bayern Munich.

The 54-year-old’s City contract runs until June 2027, which was signed in November last year.

However, Planchart thinks it is time for Guardiola to take his career in a different direction. It is a notable stance from someone who has worked under Guardiola during all three of his managerial spells so far and only left City in June.

In an interview with Sport, Planchart said: “It’s a personal decision he’ll have to make. I think a project should last five or six years, no more.

“But not for him, for everyone. Afterward, you have to regenerate. As a friend, I would tell him to look for a new project because he still has a long way to go.

“This is why he’s been at City for so many years: they’ve treated us like family, they’ve let us work as if we were at home. He didn’t feel that way at Barca or Bayern.

“He’s a football fanatic. His life is on the green, on the grass. He’s a genius, a creator. His greatest strength is how he invents football. The difficult thing in this life is creating; the rest of us are copycats. He’s number one at this.”

When asked about City’s tough campaign last season, Planchart added: “Sometimes you lack energy, and when you get into a bad dynamic, it’s hard.

“In football, you always have to be at 100%. We had injuries, people were at the end of their careers. There was a drop in performance, even among the staff.

“The lack of energy forced us to fight just to get into the Champions League, and it was an achievement. We also lost the cup final; it was punishment for a poor season.”

City have performed an overhaul to keep Guardiola energised, bringing in Pep Lijnders and Kolo Toure as new coaches and also signing a host of players including Tijjani Reijnders, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Rayan Cherki and Rayan Ait-Nouri.

Despite this, TEAMtalk thought it would be timely to analyse which managers could succeed from Guardiola in the future.

Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola seems an obvious choice. He has built up a fantastic reputation, taking Bournemouth to new heights while also playing an exciting brand of football.

Iraola has improved plenty of stars during his time at the Vitality Stadium, including Antoine Semenyo, Dean Huijsen, Justin Kluivert and Milos Kerkez.

Iraola was unlucky to see Bournemouth sell the likes of Huijsen, Kerkez and Illia Zabarnyi during the summer, but he has moved on brilliantly and helped the Cherries reach fourth spot in seven league games – one point ahead of City.

Iraola is among the bookies’ favourites to replace Guardiola, although Manchester United are also considering him if they decide to sack Ruben Amorim in the future.

Guardiola would love to see City legend Vincent Kompany return to the Etihad as manager. Kompany already has a statue outside of the stadium after his stellar career there as a player.

In March 2023, Guardiola said of the Belgian: “I am delighted for his success in Burnley.

“He will be back sooner or later. His destiny to be manager of City is already written in the stars. It’s going to happen. I don’t know when but it’s going to happen.”

Eyebrows were raised when Kompany got the Bayern job, but he is doing very well in Bavaria. Bayern are defending their Bundesliga crown in style, having won all six of their league games so far and scored 25 goals in the process.

While Kompany would likely jump at the chance to manage his beloved City, he is currently very happy at the Allianz Arena.

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Roberto De Zerbi may also be considered

Roberto De Zerbi is another coach Guardiola has tipped for the City job. De Zerbi helped Brighton & Hove Albion to punch well above their weight between September 2022 and June 2024, building on the great work done by Graham Potter.

As per The Telegraph, Guardiola told Brighton players after a 1-1 draw that De Zerbi would be ‘the next Man City manager’.

The Italian has been in charge of Marseille since July 2024 and they currently sit second in Ligue 1, one point behind defending champions Paris Saint-Germain.

While De Zerbi plays a thrilling style of football, question marks have been raised over the defensive fragility of his sides.

TEAMtalk has also decided to take a look at two more surprising candidates.

Mikel Arteta has been backed to return to City after previously working as Guardiola’s assistant between July 2016 and December 2019.

Arteta has put Arsenal on a stable footing and got them back in the mix for Premier League titles, having finished narrowly behind City twice in recent years.

Despite the close bond that once existed between Arteta and City, it will be incredibly tough to prise the 43-year-old out of north London.

He is determined to end Arsenal’s wait for the title, while a return to City would also ruin his reputation among the Gunners faithful.

Plus, Arteta has moved away from Guardiola’s philosophy over the last 18 months, focusing more heavily on set pieces.

Finally, there is Lijnders, Guardiola’s former rival during his time at Liverpool.

Lijnders worked as Jurgen Klopp’s assistant at Anfield and is understood to have been behind more decisions than many fans realised.

Guardiola jumped at the chance to appoint Lijnders in the summer. Perhaps he is setting the Dutchman up as his successor?

Lijnders formed a brilliant reputation at Liverpool but things did not go to plan while he was in charge of Red Bull Salzburg.

Lijnders only lasted six months before being sacked in December, with Salzburg 10 points behind league leaders Sturm Graz at that stage.

His appointment as Guardiola’s replacement would therefore be a big risk for City.

A lot could depend on which manager Guardiola personally tells City chiefs to hire.

Iraola currently appears to be the frontrunner, but that could change if Kompany becomes unhappy at Bayern.

Man City news: Real Madrid move; icon’s exit

Meanwhile, City could reportedly bid for a Real Madrid midfielder amid concerns over Rodri’s long-term fitness.

Fellow midfielder Bernardo Silva has entered the final year of his City deal.

TEAMtalk has analysed five potential options for Silva as he weighs up a lucrative future transfer.

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