Manchester City have already lined up a potential replacement for Pep Guardiola if the Spaniard decides to call it quits in England.
Having established himself as one of the greatest managers to ever coach in the Premier League, the 52-year-old will surely not be sticking around much longer. However, reports have emerged from the Spanish news outlet Mundo Deportivo that City just might have the perfect replacement for the former Barcelona player and manager in Girona coach Michel Sanchez.
The Sports Director of Girona, Quique Carcel stated on Friday that Sanchez has the talent to lead a club like Manchester City but needs time to get on such benches.
Quique Carcel made some bold claims suggesting that Michel Sanchez plays a similar type of football that Manchester City does with a much smaller club. However, Quique did acknowledge that Sanchez’s future in City will most likely depend on Guardiola’s decision to leave. Girona midfielder Aleix Garcia also had only good things to say about both Sanchez and Guardiola.
While speaking to AS, he said, “Pep, we all know who he is, what a great coach he is and everything he has won. Míchel is trying with the City Group, with a lot of contact with Pep, to learn from him”.
Replacing Pep Guardiola in Manchester City is surely going to be a massive challenge to overcome. Having won everything during his time at Barcelona, Guardiola also had a successful stint at Bayern Munich. He next set his sights on the Premier League in England, joining as coach in 2016.
Since then the Spanish manager has broken innumerable records while winning a total of 15 trophies with the English club. He also became the second-ever manager in England to win a European treble after Sir Alex Ferguson. Pep has dominated one of if not the most competitive leagues in the world, winning five league titles in eight years.
Pep Guardiola signed a two-year contract extension with Manchester City in November 2022 which will see him stay at the club until 2025. In an official statement from the club, City Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak said, “I am delighted that Pep’s journey with Manchester City Football Club will continue. He has already contributed so much to the success and fabric of this organisation, and it’s exciting to think what might be possible given the energy, hunger and ambition that he still has.”
However, Pep has been quite vocal about taking a break from coaching or switching to a national team instead of club football but nothing concrete has been established about the coach’s future. It remains to be seen if Guardiola will leave Manchester in 2025.