Pep Guardiola admits ‘part of me is leaving’

Pep Guardiola has caused panic among Manchester City fans after he admitted ‘a part of me is leaving’ at the end of a week where he was heavily linked with the role of England manager.

The 53-year-old, who has won six Premier League titles at the club, revealed that chiefs were ‘prepared’ for his departure and that an ‘option’ was waiting in the wings.

The legendary boss’s contract at the Etihad Stadium runs out in June and the Spaniard has so far been cagey as to where his future lies.

A chaotic week in English football saw Guardiola rumoured as a frontrunner to replace interim Lee Carsley as Three Lions boss, only for Thomas Tuchel to be appointed on Wednesday.

Now the manager has given his clearest indication yet that he may be headed for the exit, with some alarming comments made in a press conference on Friday. 

Guardiola’s potential appetite for an exit is thought to be influenced by the departure of long-time colleague and friend Txiki Begiristain, the club’s director of football.

City confirmed last week that former Newcastle flop Hugo Viana would replace the chief at the end of the season as a new era dawns at the Etihad.

Begiristain took on the role in October 2012, having been in the same position at Barcelona from 2003-10, and was widely credited with luring compatriot Guardiola to City four years later.

It was Begiristain who backed Guardiola in his managerial big break at Barcelona, with the pair striking up a close friendship as team-mates at the Catalan club in the early-to-mid 1990s.

‘Manchester City can confirm that Txiki Begiristain will step away from his full-time role as director of football at the end of the 2024/25 season,’ the club said in a statement.

‘Following a trophy-laden 12 years at the Etihad Stadium, Txiki will leave his current post following the club’s involvement in this summer’s FIFA Club World Cup and will be succeeded by Hugo Viana of Sporting CP. 

‘Viana will begin his full-time role in the summer of 2025, but will collaborate with Txiki in the preceding months to ensure a smooth transition.

‘We look forward to paying tribute to Txiki’s outstanding contribution to Manchester City at the end of the season.’

Mail Sport reported his likely departure in the summer and City have been sounding out potential successors for some time.

Viana, the former Newcastle United midfielder, topped that list after impressing during his six years at Sporting while working with manager Ruben Amorim.

Sporting have won two of the last four Portuguese titles and are top of the league this term with eight consecutive victories.

City want the new sporting director to have a handover period alongside Begiristain for six months before the Spaniard’s departure. 

The Spaniard also gave his thoughts on the FA’s appointment of Thomas Tuchel as the new England manager, remaining cagey on whether he was approached for the role.

The recruitment procedure came to a head as interim manager Lee Carsley‘s position became increasingly untenable amid some confusing comments over his future.

The stand-in coach said he would ‘hopefully…be going back to the [under]-21s’ after a loss to Greece before creating further chaos following a win over lowly Finland when he claimed the role was for ‘a world class coach who’s won trophies’.

This all led to reports that legendary City manager Guardiola had been approached about the position as England boss, but German Tuchel ended up being confirmed as the new man instead in a hectic week at St George’s Park.

Now the typically cagey Spaniard has broken his silence over the process and congratulated the former Chelsea head coach on his appointment.

He said: ‘Tuchel is the manager. I congratulate the FA and Thomas. 

‘I’ve been here years, I want the best for them.’

It comes after Guardiola responded to the rumours on Italian TV show Che Tempo Che Fa last week: ‘It’s not true. I’m Manchester City manager.’ 

However, he refused to rule anything out as he said: ‘I’ve not decided anything, everything can happen. So I don’t know’.

Guardiola commented further on his future at City amid continued uncertainty as he said: ‘I still need to reflect and decide what I want to do’.

Tuchel was confirmed as the new permanent Three Lions boss having signed a contract worth £6million a year last Tuesday.

He will start work in January on a deal that runs for 18 months – meaning the 2026 World Cup in North America could be his only tournament in charge. 

The former Chelsea boss will be only the third non-English manager of the men’s England team and the first since Fabio Capello quit in 2012.

On Wednesday Tuchel had his first taste of the job, meeting the media for a press conference where he fielded questions on a variety of topics from whether he would sing the national anthem, to why he took the job in the first place. 

Asked if he had a message for those who have slammed his appointment, Tuchel said with a smile: ‘I am sorry I just have a German passport but maybe the supporters can feel my passion for the Premier League, my passion for the country, how I love to live and work here.

‘I will do everything to show respect to this role and to this country. This is the biggest one in world football and everybody can be assured, no matter what nationality my passport says.

‘Everyone has their opinion. Even if someone says, “I would fancy an English coach more for the English team”, I can understand it. But I think we deserve a fair chance. We deserve the credit for having a good record in the country, for never being shy of how much we love to live in the country.

‘Maybe this counts a little bit for a British edge on my German passport. So we will try to convince them by results and the way we play. It starts for us in January. We will dive in.’

Asked if he would sing the national anthem as England manager, Tuchel replied: ‘I understood from Mark (Bullingham, FA chief executive) that it’s a personal decision. I have not made my decision yet.

‘Your anthem is very moving. I’ve experienced it several times here at Wembley.

‘No matter what decision I take, we have time until March. I will always show my respect to my new role, to the country and, of course, to a very moving anthem. As this is a new subject, I will take a bit of time.’

Tuchel will be assisted by Anthony Barry, the Englishman who worked with him at Chelsea and Bayern Munich. 

The FA interviewed 10 candidates for the managerial vacancy, some of whom were English. 

Sitting alongside Tuchel, Bullingham refused to reveal any names as he said: ‘Clearly some were more up for the role than others. We were absolutely delighted to end up with Thomas and we believe he gives us the best chance of winning the World Cup.’

Tuchel also spoke of wanting to add a ‘second star on the shirt’, or second World Cup triumph, saying at the start of his unveiling: ‘I just had the chance to read a quote from Pele here who said that ‘Wembley is the heart and the capital and the cathedral of football’, and he was absolutely right.’

Today Eddie Howe confirmed he was not one of the ten candidates interviewed by the FA for the England job – but did not rule out managing his country in the future.

Mail Sport reported on Thursday that the FA were put off by a compensation figure likely to be in excess of £6million for the Newcastle boss.