Pep Guardiola to leave Man City: How international media reacted to Etihad exit bombshell

The news leaked the way Pep Guardiola would have hated: not through a carefully managed announcement, but through club sponsors.

Reports emerged on Monday that several Manchester City commercial partners had been informed of Guardiola's imminent departure, with the Daily Mail publishing the story first. By Tuesday morning it had spread to every corner of the global sports media, and The Sun was reporting that Guardiola was furious at the timing, calling a late-night group phone meeting with his players to confirm the news himself before it spiralled further.

The man himself had done little to clarify matters in the days prior. When TNT Sports asked him about his future after Saturday's FA Cup final success over Chelsea, he said "What rumours? Have a lovely evening" and ended the interview. The body language, after a 1-0 win secured by Antoine Semenyo's finish, said everything his words did not.

That victory was Guardiola's 20th major trophy at the Etihad, achieved with City still technically in the Premier League title race heading into the final two games of the season. The timing gave the story an additional layer: a manager departing at the moment of maximum uncertainty, with the possibility of a seventh league title still mathematically alive.

Here, Sports Mole examines how the international media reacted to news of Guardiola's imminent Man City departure.

Pep Guardiola Man City exit: British media reaction

The English media led with legacy first and succession second. CBS Sports, picking up the British coverage, highlighted that City became the first team in Premier League history to reach 100 points in a single season under Guardiola in 2017-18, and that the 2022-23 treble was the first time an English club had achieved the feat since Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United side in 1998-99.

The succession story accelerated quickly. The Athletic named Enzo Maresca as the frontrunner to replace Guardiola, with talkSPORT going further and claiming an agreement had already been reached. On Tuesday, Fabrizio Romano issued his signature "Here We Go" confirmation: a total verbal agreement for a three-year deal.

FootballTransfers reported that City plan to make Guardiola's exit official on Sunday after the Aston Villa match, with an open-top bus parade scheduled for Monday to mark the end of a 10-year tenure.

One note of caution was present in some outlets: CaughtOffside pointed out the contradiction between Guardiola's repeated public insistence that he intended to see out his contract to 2027 and the volume of transfer-market noise pointing firmly in the other direction.

Pep Guardiola Man City exit: French media reaction

French-language coverage broadly framed the Maresca appointment as a deliberate philosophical decision rather than a structural reset. Le10sport described it as City backing one of Guardiola's disciples, noting that the club had chosen continuity as its guiding principle.

Eurosport France drew a distinction between the Daily Mail's categorical language and the BBC's more measured position, with the latter reporting that City were "preparing for Guardiola's departure" while still hoping he would stay, and that certain staff members were operating on the assumption he would leave.

Footmercato catalogued Guardiola's full haul at the club: six Premier League titles, three FA Cups, five League Cups, three Community Shields, the Champions League, the European Super Cup and the Club World Cup. The tone across French outlets was one of genuine respect for what had been achieved, with little scepticism about Maresca's suitability as a successor.

Pep Guardiola Man City exit: Italian media reaction

Italian coverage took a different angle, shaped largely by the fact that Maresca is one of their own.

Il Fatto Quotidiano described Guardiola's departure as the end of an extraordinary chapter, framing Maresca as a product built inside the Guardiola system, and pointing to his role in winning Premier League 2 with City's development squad in 2020-21 as evidence of roots that run deeper than his time as first-team assistant.

La Gazzetta dello Sport via Football Italia confirmed that City would soon formally announce both the exit and the appointment, and added that Maresca had already identified Atalanta BC's Marco Palestra as a potential early transfer target.

The most distinctive angle to emerge from the Italian press, however, had nothing to do with Maresca. Il Messaggero reported that Italian Football Federation president Giovanni Malago had privately expressed interest in Guardiola as the next Italy national team manager, raising the possibility that one of football's most celebrated club coaches could move into international management within weeks.

The speculation remains unconfirmed, but it illustrates how quickly Guardiola's name is being attached to vacancies across Europe.

Vote in the 2025-26 Sports Mole Readers' Awards!

Cast your votes for the 2025-26 Sports Mole Reader Awards' below - pick your Premier League player of the season, worst signing of the season, European player of the season and more.

Voting will be open until 11pm on Sunday, May 24, and the winners will be announced on Monday, May 25!