City neighbours tried to keep news of such epic proportions a secret in 2013, to disastrous consequences, and the last thing anyone on the blue side of Manchester wants is a repeat
We will get to the matter of Pep Guardiola and Manchester City in a minute. When Alex Ferguson was leaving Manchester United in 2013 he wanted it kept as tight a secret as possible, likely so as not to cause too much of a stir around the club as he pursued his 13th Premier League title.
Ferguson had badly wanted to claim United’s 20th league title the previous year, but was utterly disappointed after Sergio Aguero won it for City with that goal against QPR. Ferguson had to leave a winner so United would go again. A news of such epic proportions as his departure after 26 years just could not emerge while the title hung in the balance.
Reports coming out from the media were denied as false. Even the players had no idea the big boss was leaving come the end of the season. Only the higher-ups – the Glazers, who were the owners, and chief executive David Gill, who was also stepping down that summer – knew.
Gradually more and more people became in the know, but the club still tried to keep the lid on it as tight as possible. It eventually became impossible to keep it in and it spilled towards the very end of the season, but by then United had secured the league title with the 3-0 victory over Aston Villa at Old Trafford.
What does this have to do with Guardiola? Well, like Ferguson, the Spaniard, a serial winner, also had a disappointing campaign last season, and he noted that he “could not leave now” because he “didn’t want to let the club down”. So he signed a contract extension in November 2024, and City tried again this season.
It now appears they might fail to win it after Arsenal narrowly defeated Burnley on Monday night to leave only a distracted Crystal Palace side standing between them and the trophy, but after news emerged on the same night that Guardiola would be leaving at the end of the season, it appears that, like United in 2013, City have also been unable to hold the news in. The levee has broken.
The day after lifting trophy #️⃣2️⃣0️⃣
👑 @PepTeam pic.twitter.com/FqUqLMTmMa
— Manchester City (@ManCity) May 17, 2026
Two truths are evident here. First, Guardiola’s departure marks the end of an era for City, the changing of the guard, their Augustus at Nola. Second, whether or not City manage to somehow wrest the title off Mikel Arteta and Arsenal’s silverware-starved hands, Guardiola leaves the club a winner. Not just by definition either, having secured the League Cup and FA Cup this season.
But where to from here? United and Ferguson may have had genuine reasons for keeping the great man’s exit a secret in 2013, but one thing it did was prevent them from conducting the thorough process of finding an appropriate successor. A little difficult to find your next manager if no one is supposed to know the old one is leaving.
United ultimately ended up with David Moyes, a poor choice, and one they are still paying for 13 years later. Enzo Maresca, who is expected to succeed Guardiola this summer, has a slightly bigger profile than the Everton boss, having coached Chelsea and led them to success in the Conference League and the Club World Cup.
Still, Chelsea were hardly world beaters at the level of City. They were sixth in the table and in the conference league when Maresca joined, six years since their last league title and led by owners in BlueCo who were not necessarily interested in a manager who would guarantee instant success so much as grow with the team.
Whoever takes over from Guardiola at City will have quite some gigantic boots to fill. Are City confident they have their best man or have they gone with the easiest pick to play along with their theme of keeping their great man’s exit a secret, like their city neighbours did 13 years ago? If there is one lesson they may learn from Ferguson’s exit at United, it’s that such a move could lead to disastrous consequences.
