Manchester City planning for Pep Guardiola exit earlier than new contract agreement states | OneFootball

Officials at Manchester City are reportedly planning for an exit of Pep Guardiola as their head coach earlier than his new contractual agreement stipulates.

The 53-year-old brought an end to long-standing speculation and doubts over his managerial future at Manchester City last week by penning a two-year agreement with the club beyond the end of the ongoing season.

As such, that will ensure that Guardiola reaches the elusive decade mark in charge of Manchester City and perhaps raises their chance of securing top transfer targets in the coming markets given the extended opportunity to work with arguably football’s greatest coach.

But reports prior to the official extension of the contract had ran a very different line of reporting to the one that was unveiled by Manchester City themselves, insisting that the agreement was a one-year deal with the option of a further 12 months.

And while that has been shutdown by the club in their formal announcement of the deal, a follow-up report covering the future of Pep Guardiola in light of his extension has sided with the original belief around the deal.

According to the information of Football Transfers’ Steve Kay, officials within Manchester City are still planning for Pep Guardiola’s departure in the summer of 2026, despite his new contract running until the end of the 2026/27 campaign.

It is claimed that the second of the two seasons extended into is ‘purely a contingency’ should Manchester City officials feel that the team is not yet ready to cope with the Catalan’s departure from the club.

City bosses are reportedly aiming to hand Guardiola the next couple of transfer windows to prepare and rebuild the squad for his exit, with the club well aware that the current age profile of the team is not entirely ideal.

But who is City’s ‘dream target’ to replace Guardiola? The report claims that Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta is viewed in that domain, and while the Spaniard recently signed a contract extension of his own and has not been approached by City, they are keeping a close eye on his situation.

And what about Guardiola – what could come next? The same report states he would be interested in the England job should Thomas Tuchel leave after the FIFA World Cup, and should that not be available, he would either stay at City or seek other opportunities.

Prior to Pep Guardiola’s contract extension at Manchester City, a number of names had been thrown into the conversation as potential successors to the Catalan coach, including Bayer Leverkusen’s Xabi Alonso.

However, given Guardiola’s decision to remain at the Etihad, and the intensified pursuit from Real Madrid to make the Spaniard their next head coach, Manchester City may have to look elsewhere when the time comes to recruit a successor in the dugout.

Bayern Munich’s Vincent Kompany has long been touted as a potential candidate for Guardiola’s position, even by the current City boss himself, whilst Girona’s Míchel is known to have admirers within the Premier League champions.