Manchester City are moving towards a major turning point. Pep Guardiola, the manager who has defined the club’s modern era, is widely expected to leave at the end of the season, with people close to the team believing the choice has effectively been made. He has avoided direct answers about his future, but the feeling around the club is that this is no longer an open question.
Guardiola remains under contract until 2027, yet his deal includes a break clause that allows him to walk away after this campaign. According to multiple reports, that is the option he plans to take. City have not said so publicly, and that caution is understandable: they are still chasing the Premier League title, with one match left and Arsenal still pushing hard.
If he does depart, the club already appears to have a leading successor in mind. Former Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca, who once worked under Guardiola at City, is believed to be the top candidate. The situation is still being managed carefully, but the direction of travel is becoming clearer by the day.
What the Club Is Not Saying
The clearest signal so far has been the club’s silence. When pressed on Monday, sources around Manchester City said that “nothing has changed”, a reply that did little to calm speculation. Inside the dressing room, that answer has been treated more as a shield than a denial. Players and staff are now widely understood to believe Guardiola will move on in the summer.
City’s hesitation to confirm anything is deliberate. With the title race still alive, the club wants to avoid anything that could pull attention away from the pitch. If there is to be an official announcement, it is likely to come only after the season is over, and possibly after the planned celebrations have taken place.
Why the Contract Detail Matters
The key point is not the length of Guardiola’s deal, but the structure of it. Although his contract runs to 2027, the break clause gives him a clean and agreed exit point at the end of this season. That matters because it means a summer departure would not be a shock from a contractual point of view. It would simply be the moment when the manager chooses not to extend the story.
Guardiola has spoken in recent years about the demands of elite management, and many around him have long believed that a decade in Manchester would be a natural place to stop. The deal was built to give him choice, not pressure. If he stays, it will be because he wants more time. If he leaves, it will be because the timing feels right.
Maresca and the Succession Plan
Enzo Maresca is the name that keeps coming back. His connection to City is obvious: he knows the club, understands the environment, and has already worked within Guardiola’s system. That makes him an appealing option for a hierarchy that values continuity and control.
His appeal is rooted in familiarity rather than glamour. He is comfortable with possession-based football, understands the standards at the Etihad, and is currently available after leaving Chelsea. Sources have also suggested that he has been approached in an exploratory way, which points to real planning rather than idle speculation. Other names may be mentioned later, but Maresca is the one being taken most seriously.
There is also a practical reason for his rise. City would prefer a manager who can preserve the core ideas that have made the team so dominant. In that sense, Maresca offers less of a reset and more of a continuation.
One More Title Push Still Matters
Even with the future taking shape, City still have a championship to fight for. Arsenal beat Burnley 1-0 at the Emirates on Monday, which raised the pressure on Guardiola’s side. City now need to beat Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Tuesday if they want to keep the title race alive until the final day.
The situation is simple. A win would send the contest to the last round against Aston Villa. Any dropped points would hand Arsenal their first league crown since 2004. That is why the club is keeping the focus on football rather than on the manager’s next move. A public statement about Guardiola in the middle of such a run would only complicate matters further.
A Legacy That Is Already Secured
Regardless of how this finishes, Guardiola’s record at City is already exceptional. His 1-0 victory over Chelsea in the FA Cup final on Saturday gave him his 20th trophy as City manager, a mark that underlines just how dominant this era has been. Few coaches anywhere have achieved that level of success at one English club.
The club’s plans for the days after the season also tell their own story. A celebration has already been arranged for the day after the final league match against Aston Villa, with the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup set to be paraded. City are also expected to rename a stand at the Etihad in Guardiola’s honour, a move that strongly suggests the club is preparing for an emotional farewell rather than another extension.
That may be the clearest clue of all. Whether the announcement comes immediately or later, City are already acting like a club that knows a defining chapter is close to ending.
What to Expect Next
The most likely sequence now is easy to imagine. Guardiola finishes the campaign, perhaps with another league title, City celebrate a successful season, and then the manager confirms what many inside the club already believe. If that happens, a formal move for Maresca would follow once the practical details are settled.
For the moment, City are choosing restraint over clarity. That does not mean they are uncertain. It means they are waiting for the right moment to say publicly what they seem to have already accepted privately.
Guardiola still has one more match to influence the title race. After that, the summer may finally bring the end of one of the most important managerial spells in modern English football.