When Sir Alex Ferguson left Manchester United in 2013, he did so with a Premier League winners’ medal around his neck. The downside was that he squeezed every last bit out of an aging team and the handover to his successor David Moyes was a traumatic one from which United have never really recovered.
Jurgen Klopp didn’t leave Liverpool as a champion when he departed Anfield two years ago, but he did pass Arne Slot a squad in decent shape — evidenced by their title win 12 months after his exit.
And when Arsène Wenger called it quits at Arsenal in 2018, he left behind neither the Premier League trophy nor the players to achieve it. Major surgery has been required from Mikel Arteta to restore them as genuine contenders.
It’s clear that moving on from a manager who has been in position for a long time can be complicated.
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Manchester City might be about to go through the same thing as United, Liverpool and Arsenal, with doubts about whether Pep Guardiola will still be in charge in August. But if he does go, he’s in something of a unique position in the Premier League era when it comes to possibly signing off with a title and leaving behind a squad which — in theory — is only going to get better.
While still unconfirmed, there’s a growing feeling around City that Guardiola, 55, will leave at the end of the season. He is under contract until June 2027, but there was surprise at the time that the extension he signed in November 2024 was for two years rather than just one.
There will be very little shock if he doesn’t see out the final year.
There’s unlikely to be any kind of formal announcement while City are still in contention to win trophies; Guardiola has always looked to minimize distractions as much as possible.
Victory over Arsenal on Sunday has narrowed the gap in the title race to three points with five games to go — plus City have a game in hand — and with an FA Cup semifinal against Championship side Southampton to come on Saturday, there’s still the possibility of sealing a domestic treble after their success over the Gunners in the Carabao Cup in March.
Not even Ferguson went out like that.
Ferguson also left United with the club on the brink of a difficult transition. His title success in 2012-13 was achieved with a squad overly reliant on an older core of Patrice Evra, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Michael Carrick, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Robin van Persie. Only Carrick stayed on the playing staff beyond 2015.
1:36
Moreno: I’d rather be in Man City’s dressing room right now
Alejandro Moreno believes Man City’s win over Arsenal puts them in a stronger position to win the Premier League.
Giggs said recently on a podcast appearance with Ferdinand that: “Another sign of a good manager is the team he leaves behind.”
Ferguson’s successor, Moyes, made plenty of mistakes of his own, but his task was made more difficult because of the squad he inherited.
Guardiola has done it differently. He has overseen the departure of a number of experienced campaigners over the last 18 months including Éderson, Kyle Walker, Ilkay Gündogan and Kevin De Bruyne.
In their place, Guardiola has bedded in younger players like Marc Guéhi, Josko Gvardiol, Abdukodir Khusanov, Nico O’Reilly, Antoine Semenyo and Rayan Cherki.
The average age of the City squad this season is 26.1; the average age of the starting XI against Arsenal on Sunday was even lower, at 25.3.
Whether Guardiola stays or goes, there will be further investment in the squad this summer. But any money spent will be used to fill specific needs — a midfielder to replace the departing Bernardo Silva and possibly a right back — rather than making wholesale changes. The foundations of City’s next team are already in place.
Guardiola has said that City will be better next season. That has prompted some hope among fans that he might decide he wants to benefit from the improvement himself rather than hand the golden ticket to a successor — whether that’s his former assistant Enzo Maresca (who is currently out of work after leaving Chelsea) or someone else.
1:36
Guardiola hails ‘legend’ Bernardo Silva after Man City beat Arsenal
Pep Guardiola sings the praises of Bernardo Silva after the midfielder’s star performance in Manchester City’s win over Arsenal.
He has shelved plans to leave before, most notably when he signed a second extension in November 2022, and one more crack at winning the UEFA Champions League might be tempting.
City have always been relaxed about Guardiola’s future, believing that their relationship is so strong that he would always factor in what’s best for the club as well as what works for him. It’s one of the reasons there were no internal concerns that he could leave last summer — despite a relatively poor season — because he knew a handover in a summer which included the FIFA Club World Cup would be difficult for the club to manage.
Whenever Guardiola decides to go, it will be a big blow for City.
The club have been molded around his vision since he arrived in 2016, and it’s paid off in the form of a bucketload of silverware. He could yet walk away as a champion while also leaving behind a team capable of adding more in the future.
And that is something not even Premier League greats like Ferguson, Klopp and Wenger were able to achieve.
