Pep Guardiola ‘could quit Man City this week’ with replacement named | Football | Sport

The result has handed Arsenal the opportunity to establish a nine-point advantage at the top of the table when they face Nottingham Forest on Saturday evening. Guardiola’s 10-year tenure at City may be drawing to a close, with the Spaniard having previously hinted at departing Manchester.

Despite penning a fresh two-year deal in November last year running until 2027, doubts persist over whether he will honour that agreement in full. Now, suggestions have emerged that Guardiola could exit as soon as this week.

Speaking on beIN Sport, Keys made a surprising claim about Guardiola’s future following the United defeat.

He said: “I think it’s nailed on that he’s gone at the end of the season. But, do not rule out him leaving this week. This week. If he goes this week, [Enzo] Maresca will be in charge of the match against Wolves.

“City will be apoplectic, and they’ll deny it, of course, but it’s on his mind, I’m telling you, to leave this week. He does this a lot, so you can’t read much into it, but this time you can.”

In December, he said: “It doesn’t affect me at all because I know it’s 100 per cent speculation. In this moment, there is no time for these kinds of things, first of all, because I have a contract here until 2029.”

However, Maresca is currently without a job after parting ways with Chelsea earlier this month, with Liam Rosenior taking over his role at Stamford Bridge.

It remains unclear whether Maresca could step into a new managerial role immediately following his departure from Chelsea, given any potential clauses or agreements in his exit terms that might prevent him from taking charge of another club.

Before embarking on his own managerial journey at Leicester and later joining Chelsea, Maresca was a coach under Guardiola at City.

Following the defeat at Old Trafford, Guardiola didn’t mince words about his team’s performance, conceding that his side deserved to lose. “They were the better team,” Guardiola admitted.

“They had something we did not have. I’ve come many times here. But today we were not the level required to win these types of games. We had that energy four days ago against Newcastle but not today.

“It was not a bad performance. We didn’t get the result. It happens. It was a football game and they were better.”