Pep Guardiola's Future at Manchester City: A Defining Week Ahead

Inside Manchester City, a strange tension hangs over a club still chasing another Premier League title. On the surface, it looks familiar: Guardiola prowling the touchline, a team grinding out wins, the Etihad machine whirring towards yet another piece of silverware.

Behind the scenes, it feels very different.

Multiple figures inside City now believe this could be Guardiola’s final week in charge at the Etihad Stadium, with internal expectations growing that the Catalan will step down at the end of the season. No announcement. No farewell tour. Just a growing sense that the era is about to end.

Signals from the inner circle

The biggest alarm bell is not a boardroom leak or a cryptic quote. It is the impending departure of Lorenzo Buenaventura, Guardiola’s long-time fitness coach and one of his closest confidants, who is due to leave at the end of the season.

For people who know both men, that exit is being read as a significant sign. Buenaventura has been a constant presence throughout much of Guardiola’s coaching journey. If he is going, many inside City suspect Guardiola may not be far behind.

Officially, the club is holding the line. Senior figures insist that no decision has been made, that they are working on the basis that Guardiola stays, and that until he tells them otherwise, the future remains open. That is the message from the hierarchy.

The mood around the first team tells another story. According to a detailed report by The Athletic’s Sam Lee, several sources across different departments connected to the senior squad are now preparing for the possibility that Guardiola leaves when this campaign ends. Contingency plans are being drawn up. Quietly, but decisively.

Twenty trophies, one looming question

All of this comes just 48 hours after Guardiola collected his 20th trophy as Manchester City manager, reaching that landmark in his 10th year in charge.

City edged past Chelsea in a tight 1-0 win to lift the FA Cup, settled by a single goal from Antoine Semenyo. Before the game, Guardiola bristled at suggestions it might be his last appearance at the national stadium as City manager, snapping back “no way” when asked if this could be his final visit as Sky Blues boss.

On the pitch, it looked like business as usual. Another final, another trophy, another Guardiola performance in a high-stakes game.

Away from the cameras, the club is bracing for what would be the most seismic managerial change in its modern history. This is not simply about replacing a coach. Guardiola has shaped the club’s identity, culture, and standards for a decade. Every corridor, every training drill, every tactical detail bears his imprint.

The timing of a farewell

If Guardiola is to go, City know the timing of any announcement will be crucial.

The title race with Arsenal remains the public obsession. Inside the club, the outcome of Arsenal’s game against Burnley and City’s trip to Bournemouth 24 hours later is seen as a key factor in when – and how – any decision is communicated.

The thinking, as reported by The Athletic, is that the club will keep things quiet in the coming days while the title remains alive. Should the race effectively be settled by midweek, official confirmation of Guardiola’s future could land before the final-day clash with Aston Villa at the Etihad.

That scenario would create an extraordinary backdrop: a potential title decider doubling as a farewell to the greatest manager in the club’s history.

Life after Pep

If this really is the end of the road, the scale of the task facing Manchester City is immense.

They are not just appointing a new head coach. They are trying to find someone capable of inheriting Guardiola’s tactical framework, his relentless demands, and the standards that have turned City into a serial winner.

Preparations, led by Director of Football Hugo Viana, have reportedly been mapped out. The process is in motion. Yet the emotional weight of replacing a man who has dictated the club’s direction for a decade will be heavy on the dressing room and the wider staff.

Names will be floated, and one of them is Enzo Maresca. The former City assistant, now carving out his own coaching career, is being spoken about as a possible figure to lead the next era. Whoever steps in will walk into a dressing room used to perfection and a fanbase that has only known dominance under Guardiola.

A final act at the Etihad?

The permutations are simple enough. If Arsenal slip against Burnley and City take care of business at Bournemouth on Tuesday night, the final day against Aston Villa could become something extraordinary: a title on the line and, potentially, a last dance for Guardiola on home soil.

Every glance to the dugout would carry extra meaning. Every wave to the crowd, every embrace with his players, every stride down the touchline would be studied by supporters wondering if they are witnessing the closing scenes of a historic tenure.

For now, City insist nothing is decided. The trophies keep coming, the title race rages on, and Guardiola remains in the technical area, driving his team towards yet another finish line.

But inside the club, preparations for what comes next have already begun. If this really is the final week of Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, the question is no longer what he has built.

It is who dares to follow.