Man City have three obvious contenders in bid to replace the irreplaceable Pep Guardiola

Sheikh Mansour always wanted Pep Guardiola at Manchester City because he knew he was the ideal coach to fulfil his vision of making them the best.

The Abu Dhabi billionaire had to wait and after Guardiola’s spell at his beloved and his 12 months out, he spent three years at . City made themselves in his image in the meantime, appointing former Barcelona men Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begiristain as CEO and director of football respectively.

Guardiola found a home from home when he arrived in 2016 and City have given him everything since, from money to players. City have successfully matched Guardiola’s vaulting ambition, making the Blues not only the top club in England and Europe, but the .

This model will be put to the ultimate test if Guardiola leaves next summer when his contract expires when he will be 54. How to City replace the world’s best manager when you have spent so long shaping the club in his likeness?

READ MORE:

READ MORE:

City need only to look across the city to and the trauma that can follow when a legend leaves. City, under Guardiola, have that same aura United had under Sir and psychologically many teams are beaten before they even cross the while line at the Etihad.

has succeeded so far in replacing , but had to remake their entire backroom, bringing back Michael Edwards and Julian Ward and appointing Richard Hughes as director of football. It’s also hard to compare Slot with Guardiola and the Dutchman, as just head coach, is arguably the least-powerful boss the club have had in decades.

City do have a couple of trump cards and there is no other job Guardiola wants. He’s ruled out returning to Barcelona, he’s done Bayern and he’s not interested in any other job. Paris Saint-Germain do not excite him and as a proud Catalan, he has no interest in managing Spain or .

Then there is FIFA’s newly-expanded Club World Cup and having climbed every mountain football has to offer, this virgin territory interests him greatly. That competition does not end until mid-July, making it almost impossible to replace him with a new coach before the 2025-26 Premier League season starts.

If Guardiola does go, City have several options and Michel has worked miracles at the Blues’ sister club, Girona. Since taking over in 2021, he has guided unheralded Girona to and into the .

Ruben Amorim won his second Portuguese title with Sporting Lisbon last season and it seems only a matter of time before he comes to England, having rejected and interested Liverpool. Amorim’s hand could also be strengthened by Sporting’s director of football Hugo Viana succeeding Begiristain next summer.

Then there is the City blueblood Vincent Kompany and he could push his claims by leading Bayern Munich to the Bundesliga or Champions League. City do have options if they have to replace the irreplaceable.

and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our