Pep Guardiola is set to officially inform Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak of his decision to leave the club at the end of the season, with the announcement expected before the weekend. Daily Mail Sport has revealed that Guardiola is determined to end his decade-long tenure at the Etihad Stadium, bringing the curtain down on a glittering spell in English football.
City's Title Hopes Dashed
Manchester City's Premier League title aspirations were effectively ended on Tuesday night after a 1-1 draw with Bournemouth, which handed the championship to Arsenal. The club have been preparing for Guardiola's eventual departure for some time, with Enzo Maresca emerging as a leading candidate to take over, should a compensation package be agreed with his former employers, Chelsea.
Guardiola's Statement
Speaking after the match, Guardiola said: 'The first person I have to talk to is my chairman. We'll talk in the next days. Always I said that when you are fighting for the titles, if you decide (to announce an exit) then from the first moment the players don't follow you anymore.' He added: 'I always talked to my chairman: "Pep what are you going to do?" And I always said to let the season go and we'll talk. He deserves to be first, I deserve to talk to him first about what we are going to do.'
Guardiola continued: 'Let me talk to my chairman. I know the fans love me, I love them more. I adore that place. I was incredibly focused on my job. While we were in the competitions, I was there.'
Progress Amid Disappointment
Despite the disappointment of losing the title, Guardiola expressed pride in the progress City have made following an overhaul of the playing squad. He also congratulated his former assistant Mikel Arteta and Arsenal for securing their first league title since 2004.
The 55-year-old suggested that a congested fixture schedule had contributed to City's inability to keep pace with the Gunners. 'Since January things were really good,' Guardiola said. 'We had many injuries and many things we could not control. I learnt a lot this season with what you have to do to win with circumstances we could not control.'
He added: 'We played in many moments with difficulties. We never gave up. I would love to arrive until the last moment against Aston Villa at home with a chance but we didn't win today because we missed that pace, that situation that is required to play teams like Bournemouth. The travel to London, Chelsea wasn't a brilliant final. You need to be fresh. Our calendar was really tough in the last part of the season.'
