Liverpool and Arsenal bosses Jurgen Klopp and Mikel Arteta have both recorded 2025 as the year Pep Guardiola would quit his job as Man City manager, but he could extend his stay at the club.
Klopp once joked that he would love Pep Guardiola to quit Manchester City but as the Catalan battles to land his sixth Premier League title in seven seasons, it is easy to sense the seriousness within the humour.
Liverpool have been City’s most consistent contender over that period of time and in any other six-year chunk, would have more than the sole trophy in their cabinet. Klopp has ended campaigns with 92, 97 and 99 points and yet only finished on top in with the latter haul.
It was Arsenal who fell short last season, unable to keep pace as City won 12 Premier League games in a row between February and May. Mikel Arteta’s side enjoyed one of their best campaigns in recent memory but it wasn’t enough.
City have become a juggernaut under Guardiola, almost inevitably coming out on top despite the constant doubts from outside. Poor starts, injuries, bumps in the road and fixture pile-ups have done little to stop the momentum and this season seems to be no different.
Guardiola signed a two-year contract extension just over a year ago and for the likes of Klopp and Arteta, 2025 was pencilled in as the chance for them to take over.
It has long been reported that City would need a new manager from the 2025/2026 season but on Monday, hope was restored.
Asked if it’s possible he could extend his stay at City, Guardiola said:
“Well yes, of course! But I can also leave tomorrow. One year is a long time in football. I arrive with long hair and look at what happened.
“I would have loved the team with 100 points to stay eternally. At all the clubs this happens.”
Guardiola is famously last-minute with his decision to leave a club. He announced his exit from Barcelona in April after the feeling of burnout grew during an exceptionally toxic battle with Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid.
He will give little away between now and 2025 but the feeling of freshness that comes with a new, young squad can reinvigorate even the most tired of managers. There are projects at the Etihad, not least the likes of Erling Haaland, Julian Alvarez, Jeremy Doku and Josko Gvardiol.
And it is with City that Guardiola has the biggest chance of winning more trophies. They are the best team in Europe and have the funds to consistently improve. In Txiki Begiristain and Ferran Soriano, he has people above him who know exactly what he wants and are inclined to give him it.
Barcelona seemed like the perfect environment, however, and yet Guardiola decided to seek another challenge elsewhere. There’s every chance that by 2025, after nine seasons, he could move on from Manchester.
Klopp and Arteta will be hoping that he does leave.
