Pep Guardiola to decide on Man City exit within days as Arsenal final looms | Football | Sport

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola will determine his future after Sunday’s Carabao Cup final against Arsenal. The 55-year-old has 18 months remaining on his two-year contract after signing a fresh deal in 2024. According to the Daily Mail, the 55-year-old will go away after the Wembley showdown with the Gunners and reflect on what is best for himself and City.

In recent months, fresh doubt has emerged about Guardiola’s future in Greater Manchestwho Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca among those identified as a potential successor to the Catalan legend. The uncertainty comes after City were eliminated from the Champions League by Guardiola’s old adversaries, Real Madrid, who triumphed 5-1 on aggregate. Vinicius Jr netted twice in the second leg and the tie was transformed when Bernardo Silva received a straight red card for handball in the first half.

The report indicates that City’s sporting director, Hugo Viana, has approached potential replacements for Guardiola, with Maresca among those with whom discussions are understood to have taken place. Life after the 55-year-old has increasingly become part of the discourse at the Etihad Stadium, but his decision to sign an extension in November 2024, amid a challenging run of results, subdued the speculation.

But with the eight-time Premier League champions facing a nine-point deficit to league leaders Arsenal, Guardiola confronts another enormous challenge if he is to secure another trophy for his illustrious collection.

However, the report from the Mail emerge just hours after the City manager declared the future at the club is “bright” following their Champions League round of 16 departure.

He stated: “It is difficult once you are 4-0 down and playing 10 men against 11. But we did everything. We have an extraordinary team and an extraordinary group of players. The future is bright. It’s a little bit of a learning [curve] but it should have been 11 against 11. But we never know. Maybe we lose 6-0 but it’s a fact.”

It’s been two years since Jurgen Klopp‘s shocking decision to depart Liverpool early. The German head coach named a lack of energy as the reason for his departure after eight-and-a-half years at Anfield, during which the Reds transformed from Champions League outsiders to champions of England and Club World Cup winners.

Whether Guardiola leaves City will soon become apparent. Since picking a Liverpool squad for the last time, Klopp has appeared rejuvenated and assumed a new role as Head of Global Soccer at Red Bull, whilst making appearances at sporting events across Europe – most recently at Milano Cortina for the Winter Olympics.

And Guardiola took a swipe at Real Madrid when he named Klopp as one of his most treasured rivals following their exit to the Spanish giants. He said: “No, Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool was the biggest challenge. You almost don’t realise what it was like to face Liverpool.

“Those games were a great learning experience for the team, because to play a team like us who had not been in the competition 12 or 13 years ago and the generation that we had, they have won those games sometimes, Real Madrid have beaten us, we’ve won some. We’ve had great times as well.”