It is a hot topic of conversation in boardrooms across Europe: just what is going to happen next with Pep Guardiola?
Another international break may have come and gone but the uncertainty around the Manchester City endures.
There was a school of thought that a fortnight’s break, coming off the back of an impressive Carabao Cup win over Arsenal, would allow him to crystalise his thoughts about whether he would see out a deal that ends in 2027.
But there has been no puff of white smoke above the Etihad. Guardiola is keeping everyone – including City’s top brass – guessing about what his true intentions are.
Inside City the mood seems relaxed. There is no prospect of the club pushing Guardiola to make a decision or publicly declare his intention. There is too much respect for his achievements for that.
Instead they will allow him, as they did in 2024 when his contract was up for renewal at the end of the season, to come to a decision in his own time.
This matters, and not just to those at City. The managerial market is already set to be manic this summer, with vacancies at Manchester United and potentially Real Madrid to be filled at the end of the season.
There’s uncertainty around the futures of Eddie Howe at Newcastle United and Arne Slot at Liverpool, but if City enter the market, intrigue really ramps up.
City will feel they’re prepared, having held discussions with Enzo Maresca at the end of last year. Xabi Alonso and former City captain Vincent Kompany, who has impressed at Bayern Munich, are the most widely touted replacements but there are others, so far hidden underneath the radar.
The i Paper understands they also admire Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola, which could explain his lingering reluctance to commit to a new contract on the south coast.
But the club’s number one wish – and their clear preference – would be for Guardiola to stay and complete the rebuild job that began in 2024 when they erred in the transfer market after winning the Champions League.
Allowing that team to grow old sparked a transfer scramble which has seen City spend the thick end of half-a-billion pounds on 20 players, many of whom will much be stronger for a year in which Guardiola has seen plenty of signs of improvement. Rayan Cherki is just 22, Jeremy Doku is 23 and even Marc Guehi – signed from Crystal Palace in January – is 25.
The intention is to strengthen again in the summer, with City firmly in pole position to sign Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson ahead of city rivals United. They also want a right-back and have carried out checks on Brentford’s impressive Italy under-21 international Michael Kayode.
Those plans are unlikely to be knocked by whatever happens with Guardiola but there’s no doubt they would be in a better position to attack next season and beyond if they knew definitively what was happening with their manager.
There are those close to the City hierarchy who are convinced that Guardiola would never leave them in the lurch by making a decision last minute.
One described the feverish speculation as an attempt to unsettle City as they attempt to chase down Arsenal and Guardiola himself has reacted incredulously when quizzed on the topic in press conferences. It is worth noting he has hardly looked like a man whose energy levels are sapping on the touchline recently.
But he’s also a maverick and his own man, who knows the end of his sky-blue chapter is coming sooner rather than later. The suggestion is that even he doesn’t know whether he’ll still be in Manchester come August.
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