Man City issue Pep Guardiola ban for Bournemouth clash as manager left furious | Football | Sport

Guardiola is set to end a sensational 10-year tenure at the Etihad Stadium that has yielded 20 trophies. City won the FA Cup last weekend by beating Chelsea 1-0 at Wembley. And it has since emerged that he will end his long stint in Manchester despite having another 12 months left on his contract. It was expected that the Catalan would be probed about the decision pre-match and post-match at Bournemouth, but Sky Sports say that City will not allow any questions about his future.

Reports indicate that Guardiola is angry that the news has leaked before he and his club got the chance to officially announce it themselves. An insider said: “Pep is furious at the timing just before a game. He summoned the players to join a late-night group call and confirmed he was leaving.

“He apologised for the way the news emerged. It took him by surprise. The players were told as recently as Saturday that he wasn’t going so everyone is in a state of shock.”

Guardiola walked out of an interview with TNT Sports at the weekend when asked about his City future. But his players are now aware of the bombshell news that he will leave after the Catalan coach had hoped to keep it private for as long as possible.

He did not want his imminent departure to prove a distraction as City look to take the title race to the final day in chase of a domestic treble. Express Sport understands Enzo Maresca is being lined up as Guardiola’s successor, having previously been his assistant manager at City.

A three-year deal has been verbally agreed with the former Chelsea manager, 46, who only left the Blues in January this year when he still had three-and-a-half years left on his deal. He left after just 18 months at Stamford Bridge after his relationships inside the club soured.

The Guardian claim the Italian tried to leverage interest from City, which dates back months as they prepared for Guardiola’s potential exit this summer, for a new-and-improved contract at Chelsea.

Maresca reportedly informed the London club that he had held talks with figures associated with City about replacing the legendary Spaniard. Inside Chelsea, some felt that Maresca was looking to engineer an exit due to his conduct away from the pitch with some explosive comments made to journalists.

The Citizens have to defeat Bournemouth this evening to set up a thrilling final day on Sunday. They host Aston Villa at the Etihad while leaders Arsenal travel to Selhurst Park to face Crystal Palace. The Gunners haven’t won the league since 2004 while City have finished first six times under Guardiola already.