Pep Guardiola Drops Bombshell: ‘I Will Stop’ After Manchester City

It was a hellish year. Last season was certainly Pep Guardiola’s most difficult since becoming a coach. Between injuries, poor results and the way his team played, the Spanish coach was left scratching his head in frustration. He also experienced complicated moments in his personal life at the same time. Nevertheless, Guardiola is determined to move forward. In an interview with GQ Hype, he discussed his future and confirmed that he will take a step back after his time at Manchester City, despite extending his contract a few months ago. “I know that after this stage with City, I’m definitely going to stop. It’s more than decided. I’m going to leave after this stage with City because I need to stop and focus on myself and my body. I think I knew when to stop.’ The same thing happened with my coaching position at Barça: at one point, I told myself that I had done enough. I’m going to look for another challenge.’

Then, he responded to the critics. “Are there people waiting for me to fail? Yes, absolutely. And I’m happy to welcome them. It gives me energy. When you win six Premier League titles, there comes a time when you’ll inevitably lose. It’s human nature. Then, you probably should have transferred more players. But, it’s easy to say that after the fact…” Although he considers the season “not that bad,” he clarified that he had never experienced 13 to 14 games without a win. Finally, he admitted that managing his squad was very hard last year: “I have 23 players, and I select 11 every three days. The next 11 don’t seem to suit me; it’s quite the opposite. I love these 11 players even more because I suffer with them.” But these 11 players say: “Why did you pick someone else instead of me?” You tell them, “No, it’s fine. You’re training well. Okay, okay.” You say to yourself, “I’ll play tomorrow.” But he’s not playing either. How can we avoid conflicts? It’s impossible.” Guardiola intends to return to the top with his team this 2025-26 season.