Pep Guardiola Set to Leave Manchester City This Summer, With Enzo Maresca Lined Up to Succeed Him

Fabrizio Romano reports Pep Guardiola will depart Manchester City this summer after nearly a decade in charge, ending the most decorated managerial run in the club's history. Chelsea's Enzo Maresca is the sole target to replace him and is said to have verbally agreed to the job months ago.

The news

Pep Guardiola is set to leave Manchester City this summer, per Fabrizio Romano, with Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca lined up as the sole replacement target. Romano reports that Maresca verbally agreed to take the job months ago, framing the moment as the "end of an era at the Etihad." The Athletic's David Ornstein has carried a parallel report identifying Maresca as the expected successor, lending multi-source weight to the story.

Prior context

Guardiola took charge at City in 2016 and reshaped the club into the dominant force in English football. He has won six Premier League titles at the Etihad, including four straight from 2020-21 through 2023-24 — the only four-peat in the history of the English top flight dating back to 1888-89.

His trophy haul also includes the 2022-23 Champions League as part of a continental treble. The succession storyline has been building for some time, with Romano previously flagging Maresca as the clear top candidate "if/when Pep leaves," and City's coaching structure already in flux after the reported departure of longtime assistant Rodolfo Borrell to MLS.

Key numbers

6 Premier League titles under Guardiola at Manchester City
4 consecutive league crowns from 2020-21 to 2023-24 — a first in English top-flight history
1 Champions League (2022-23) as part of a continental treble
Roughly 10 years in charge at the Etihad since arriving in 2016

What it means

For City, the task is twofold: managing a generational handover while defending their domestic standing in the Premier League. Maresca, a former Guardiola assistant at City who won the Championship with Leicester before taking the Chelsea job, would arrive with internal familiarity that could ease the transition. For Chelsea, the move would mean losing their head coach mid-cycle and triggering yet another managerial reset at Stamford Bridge.

What to watch next

The immediate questions are timing of the official announcements at both clubs and how Chelsea respond to losing Maresca to a domestic rival. City's next move on backroom staff — following Borrell's exit — will also shape how cleanly the new era begins.