when sir alex ferguson left Manchester United In 2013 he did this with A Premier League The winners’ medal around his neck. The downside was that he stripped every last bit of an aging team and handing over the reins to his successor David Moyes was a tragedy from which United never really recovered.
Jurgen Klopp did not leave liverpool A champion when he left Anfield two years ago, but he left Arne Slott ahead of a team in good shape – evidenced by their title win 12 months after his exit.
And it stopped when Arsene Wenger said armory In 2018, he left behind neither the Premier League trophy nor the players who achieved it. Mikel Arteta needs major surgery to restore him as a genuine contender.
It’s clear that moving on from a long-serving manager can be complicated.
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Manchester City United may go through the same situation as Liverpool and Arsenal, with doubts about whether Pep Guardiola will still be in charge in August. But if he does go, he is in a unique position in the Premier League era when it comes to potentially signing with a title and leaving behind a team that – in theory – is only going to get better.
Although it has not yet been confirmed, there is a growing feeling at City that the 55-year-old Guardiola will leave at the end of the season. His contract is until June 2027, but it was a surprise at the time that the extension he signed in November 2024 was for two years instead of just one.
It will be much less of a shock if he doesn’t see out his final year.
Any formal announcement is unlikely to be made while City are still in the race to win trophies; Guardiola has always focused on minimizing distractions as much as possible.
Victory over Arsenal on Sunday narrowed the gap in the title race to three points with five games in hand – with City also having a game in hand – and with one fa cup against semi final championship Side southampton Saturday still looks likely to seal a domestic treble following their success over the Gunners in the Carabao Cup this coming March.
Even Ferguson didn’t get out like that.
Ferguson also left United with the club on the verge of difficult change. Their title success in 2012–13 was achieved with a team relying heavily on an old core of Patrice Evra, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Michael Carrick, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Robin van Persie. Only Carrick remained in the playing staff after 2015.
1:36
Moreno: I would love to be in the Man City dressing room right now
Alejandro Moreno believes Man City’s win over Arsenal puts them in a strong position to win the Premier League.
Giggs recently said in a podcast appearance with Ferdinand that: “Another sign of a good manager is the team he leaves behind.”
Ferguson’s successor, Moyes, made plenty of mistakes of his own, but his job was made more difficult because of the team he inherited.
Guardiola has done it differently. He has overseen the departure of a number of experienced campaigners over the past 18 months ederson, kyle walker, ilke gundogan And Kevin De Bruyne.
Young players like Guardiola have been included in their place Mark Guehi, josko guardiol, Abdukodir Khusanov, Nico O’Reilly, antony semenyo And Ryan Cherky.
The average age of the City team this season is 26.1; The average age of the starting XI against Arsenal on Sunday was even lower, 25.3.
Whether Guardiola stays or leaves, there will be further investment in the team this summer. But any money spent will be used to meet specific needs – a midfielder to replace the departing one Bernardo Silva And possibly to the right instead of making wholesale changes. The foundation of City’s next team has already been laid.
Guardiola has said that City will be better next season. This has raised some hope among fans that he may decide he wants to benefit from the improvement himself rather than handing the golden ticket to a successor – whether that be his former assistant Enzo Maresca (who is currently out of work after leaving Chelsea) or someone else.
1:36
Guardiola hails ‘legend’ Bernardo Silva after Man City beats Arsenal
Pep Guardiola has praised Bernardo Silva after the midfielder’s star performance in Manchester City’s win over Arsenal.
He had already postponed plans to leave, especially after he signed a second extension in November 2022, and another crack at winning uefa champions league Can be attractive.
City have always been relaxed about Guardiola’s future, believing that their relationship is so strong that he will always focus on what is best for the club as well as what works for him. This is one of the reasons there was no internal concern that he could leave last summer – despite the relatively poor season – because he was aware of a handover in the summer that involved fifa club world cup It will be difficult for the club to manage.
Whenever Guardiola decides to leave, it will be a huge blow to City.
The club has adapted to his vision since his arrival in 2016, and it has paid off in the form of a bucket of silverware. He can still leave as a champion and leave behind a team capable of adding more in the future.
And that’s something that even Premier League greats like Ferguson, Klopp and Wenger haven’t been able to achieve.
