Has Pep Guardiola managed his last UCL game for Man City?

Manchester City were knocked out of Europe by Real Madrid in the round of 16, leaving many to wonder whether it was the last time we would see Pep Guardiola on the touchline for the club during a Champions League match.

Guardiola looked visibly emotional after his side exited the competition at the hands of Real Madrid for the fourth time during his tenure.

The legendary manager’s future at City is uncertain, with his current contract due to expire at the end of next season, there are suggestions he could call it a day at the end of this, his 10th season in charge.

The 55-year-old has previously said he would step away from football after leaving City, and although no official decision has been made, Guardiola has been more open during this campaign about his time at the club eventually coming to an end.

There are growing reports that the club have identified former Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca as the man to take over the reigns from Guardiola, leading to further suspicion that due to the timing of the reports it could come sooner than expected.

Maresca was sacked by the Blue’s in January after falling out with the club’s board, with tensions already high after revelations that he had held talks with City three times while still in charge at Chelsea.

Guardiola is said to have directly endorsed Maresca as his successor, having previously worked with the Italian on his coaching staff at City, with the club reportedly moving quickly to secure a deal amid expectations of a managerial change next season.

The Spaniard announced himself on the European stage when he led Barcelona to the Champions League title in 2009, before doing so again in 2011, with a team widely considered to be among the greatest of all time.

When Guardiola arrived in Munich, the expectation for glory in Europe was at an all-time high but despite his domestic achievements with the club, he was unable to deliver a Champions League trophy during his three-year spell.

When he became City manager in 2016, it created the ideal scenario: a hungry Guardiola aiming to repeat his Champions League triumphs with Barcelona, leading a club that had never lifted the trophy.

After a trophyless first season in charge, Guardiola led his City side to domestic dominance with the team winning the Premier League and Carabao Cup four times, along with one FA Cup during a period of just five seasons, but there was one trophy he still hadn’t conquered with the club…

Football fans began to question whether Guardiola’s Champions League success with Barcelona was influenced by the extraordinary quality of a team featuring players such as Lionel Messi, Xavi, and Andrés Iniesta.

In 2019, he was brought to his knees as his team suffered a dramatic quarter-final defeat to Spurs, before enduring the same heartbreak the following year against Lyon.

Guardiola looked set to break his Champions League duck with City when he faced Chelsea in the final in 2021, but was again left heartbroken as a Kai Havertz goal led the London side to the trophy.  

After six long seasons at City, the Spaniard finally got his hands on the trophy when his side grounded out a 1-0 win in the 2023 final against Inter Milan.

After finally delivering the title, City fans may have expected it to signal the start of sustained European success, but that has not materialised, leaving Guardiola with the possibility of securing just one Champions League trophy during such a dominant era at the club.