{"id":598948,"date":"2026-05-23T00:56:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T00:56:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/598948\/"},"modified":"2026-05-23T00:56:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T00:56:08","slug":"i-will-be-out-for-a-while-pep-guardiola-reveals-he-will-take-break-from-coaching-manchester-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/598948\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I will be out for a while\u2019: Pep Guardiola reveals he will take break from coaching | Manchester City"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pep Guardiola said he would be out of football \u201cfor a while\u201d after his departure from Manchester City<\/a> was confirmed on Friday following a decade of glittering success in which he won 17 major trophies.<\/p>\n

With the former Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca expected to replace him, Guardiola revealed he was leaving due to his energy levels declining.<\/p>\n

City announced they would rename the Etihad Stadium\u2019s extended North Stand in his honour. The Pep Guardiola<\/a> Stand will open on Sunday for Aston Villa\u2019s visit in the season\u2019s final game. A statue of him will also be made and placed on the approach to the stand in due course.<\/p>\n

Guardiola is certain to be inundated with offers of work but he is clear regarding the future. \u201cRest. No plans to train for a while. Otherwise I would be here. I need to step back, I will not train for a while,\u201d he said. \u201cMany people when I said it will be my last season said after three months you will come back. I don\u2019t think so, I will take a while, but I have to prove to myself [that I need a rest].\u201d<\/p>\n

In his last two jobs, Guardiola managed Barcelona from 2008 to 2012 and Bayern Munich from 2013 to 2016.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cIt\u2019s not 10 years, except half a year in New York \u2013 it has been 17 or 18 years every three days with people demanding trebles and Premier Leagues and I need to breathe a little bit and relax. I will be out for a while.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel really satisfied, happy and proud. It has been the experience of my life at City, otherwise I would not have been 10 years. I cannot be more grateful for the amount of love and affection.\u201d<\/p>\n

The naming of the stand touched Guardiola as it will carry the family name of his 94-year-old father. He said: \u201cI\u2019m speechless, no words. What can I say? Khaldoon [al-Mubarak, the City chair] called me this morning and said the club made that decision. I like to feel that my vibe or my energy will be there for ever \u2013 good energy for the team.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy father will come on Sunday, 94 years old, to watch the game. It\u2019s an incredible honour to have his name in this beautiful place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Antoine Semenyo scored the goal that won the 2026 FA Cup, Pep Guardiola\u2019s 17th and last major trophy with Manchester City. Photograph: Allstar Picture Library Ltd\/Ed Sykes\/Apl\/Sportsphoto<\/p>\n

Guardiola, 55, claimed 20 trophies in total, including three Community Shields. He guided City to the treble in 2022-23, including their only Champions League to date, won the Uefa Super Cup that summer, and Club World Cup in December 2023, and the next season a record fourth consecutive Premier League.<\/p>\n

The first of City\u2019s six league titles under him, in 2017-18, came with a 100-point tally, another record, plus 106 goals, and the next term the domestic treble was claimed. Guardiola also won four consecutive Carabao Cups, from 2018 to 2021, and made it five in total this season. Last Saturday\u2019s 1-0 FA Cup final<\/a> triumph over Chelsea was his last piece of silverware.<\/p>\n

Guardiola was asked how his era might be remembered. \u201cHopefully they enjoyed watching us,\u201d he said. \u201cThe moments were fun \u2013 moments we played really good and others not. I would say the first Premier League was important and, of course, I cannot deny the Champions League.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is one sentence, talking to Noel Gallagher two years ago and he said: \u2018We were a team not able to win four games in a row and now we are going for four Premier Leagues in a row\u2019. I said: \u2018Wow, that is a good sentence for the step since Abu Dhabi took over [September 2008]. To be part of that made me so happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Guardiola suggested his decision was taken after a gradual process of losing energy. \u201cIt\u2019s the time,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s not waking up and think: \u2018Now is the time to leave.\u2019 I felt it for a while [this] and always the club respect me unbelievably. Ten years is a lot of time and I think the club needs a new manager, new energy with the incredible players that we have right now and we start to write another chapter.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a club video confirming his departure earlier in the day, he said: \u201cDon\u2019t ask me the reasons I\u2019m leaving. There is no reason, but deep inside I know it\u2019s my time. Nothing is eternal.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Guardiola will take up an ambassadorial role within the City Football Group, the umbrella company that owns Manchester City. \u201cWhen we talked together, I said: \u2018I would love to continue to be part of this club.\u2019 I will take zero decisions but to be part of the club if they need me to represent them or do something at the many clubs that this organisation has I will be there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sir Alex Ferguson was among those who congratulated Guardiola on his 10 years at the club. \u201cWith his Scottish accent I struggled to understand \u2013 it was a voicemail,\u201d Guardiola said of the former Manchester United manager. \u201cI will call him back for sure. He congratulated me for the trajectory [of my time] and for what we achieved. He is the greatest in this country. I\u2019m so happy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI miss Johan Cruyff a lot so I\u2019m happy that Sir Alex, the greatest, could see this. I\u2019m pretty sure that Sir Alex will not call us the noisy neighbours again, we are the neighbours, and I\u2019m so happy that he was there to watch us.\u201d<\/p>\n

After Monday\u2019s parade in Manchester that will celebrate City\u2019s men\u2019s, women\u2019s and youth teams\u2019 seasons, Guardiola is expected to return to Barcelona to start his new life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pep Guardiola said he would be out of football \u201cfor a while\u201d after his departure from Manchester City…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":598949,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[49,50,51,47,52,48],"class_list":["post-598948","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/598948","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=598948"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/598948\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/598949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=598948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=598948"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=598948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}