Manager insists he trusts the club amid looming 115 charges
Pep Guardiola has said he did not influence the appointment of his successor at Manchester City and insisted the club’s next manager must forge his own path rather than attempt to emulate him.
Guardiola will take charge of City for the final time against Aston Villa on Sunday, ending a 10-year spell that transformed the club into the dominant force of English football. Former Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca, previously one of Guardiola’s assistants at City, is understood to be the club’s choice to succeed him.
The Spaniard said he neither expected nor wanted involvement in the process and wants any successor to establish an identity independent of his own.
“It doesn’t work to copy and paste in this kind of job,” Guardiola said. “You have to be unique, natural and yourself and the new manager will be himself. The moment it starts to be a copy for another one … Everyone is everyone.”
Guardiola also reiterated his support for City as the club continue to await the outcome of the Premier League case concerning 115 alleged breaches of financial regulations between 2009 and 2018, all of which City deny.
Asked why he remained confident in the club’s position, Guardiola said: “Because I trust them. I spoke with them and I trust how they behave and what they did. There will be the resolution.”
The 55-year-old indicated he intends to step away from football after leaving City but did not dismiss the possibility of moving into international management in future, including with England.
“I don’t have any absolute plan about my future except to rest and recover the time I missed with my kids,” Guardiola said. “I need to rest, I need to reflect. Afterwards we will see what happens. I don’t have a plan, just to rest and do a lot of things I want to do that I didn’t do in the past.”
