Pep Guardiola has reiterated that he will take a break from coaching after leaving Manchester City, admitting it could be as long as 15 years.
The Spaniard, 54, is the most successful manager in City's history, having won 18 trophies, including six Premier League titles and the Champions League.
His contract expires in 2027 and while Guardiola has not specified when he will leave the club, he has once again claimed his sabbatical is "decided."
Guardiola, who told ESPN in May that he would leave City when his contract ends, told GQ Spain: "I know that after this stage with City I'm going to stop, that's for sure. It's decided, more than decided.
"I don't know how long I'll stop for, a year, two years, three years, five, ten, fifteen, I don't know. But I will leave after this spell with City because I need to stop and focus on myself, on my body."
Guardiola. who signed a contract extension in November, is coming off a difficult season at City. The club finished trophyless for the first time since Guardiola took the helm in 2016.
"I've spent four or five months this year in every away stadium with the crowd chanting, 'You'll be sacked in the morning. They're going to fire you'," Guardiola said. "There's no other profession, architect, teacher, doctor, journalist... where 60,000 people ask you to lose your job.
"When you win six Premier Leagues, there comes a time when you go down. It's human nature ... it's a process that had to happen, it happens, it took longer to happen, and when it did, it went deeper than we could have imagined."
Injuries plagued City last season, with the team losing Ballon d'Or award winner Rodri to a right ACL injury in September. City had their earliest Champions League exit since the 2012-13 campaign and finished third in the Premier League. Yet Guardiola insists the season was not a failure.
"It hasn't been that bad," he said. "In the end we reached the final of the FA Cup and finished third, we didn't finish twelfth. In hindsight, we'll see that it hasn't been such a bad season. But we did go many months without winning a game. We went 13 or 14 games without a win, and that was ... it had never happened before. But it puts you in your place."
Guardiola maintains an even keel with respect to trophies. "Even when I was winning, I didn't feel we were anything special," the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach said. "Now that we haven't won, I don't feel like a failure."
Guardiola expects City to bounce back strong. "Speaking on behalf of Manchester City, it has been very healthy for us," he said. "Because success can confuse you. It hasn't confused us for many years, but this year the players have been injured a lot ... but I think it will be very good for the next five or ten years. And next year [this coming season] we'll do better."
City begin their Premier League campaign at Wolves on Aug. 16.
The Champions League winners have been in talks with Donnarumma, 26, over a new deal for the past few months but are growing frustrated with the lack of progress.Donnarumma will enter into the final year of his contract with PSG in 2025-26 and the club are now coming to terms with the fact they may have to sign a replacement in the near future.According to L'Equipe, they have agreed personal terms...
The Manchester City star has enjoyed some rest ahead of the 2025/26 Premier League campaign.Jack Grealish has shared some pictures from his time offHe made sure to keep himself in shapeGrealish, 29, posted a number of snaps on his Instagram account which gave a glimpse into his time off.Some of the pictures included his partner, Sasha, and a holiday they enjoyed with their baby daughter, Mila.The ...
The Manchester City star has been relaxing with his partner in Italy over the last few weeks and they recently enjoyed a trip to Rome.Erling Haaland has been holidaying with his girlfriendIsabel clutched a £330,000 handbagIt is an ultra-rare piece that can only be purchased at auctionIsabel, 21, has taken to Instagram to share snaps from their trip and the brunette beauty wowed in a long oran...
Let's start our Daily Laugh today. Who wants Nicolas Jackson? Isak's Effect That reply FC Barcelona have got themselves a Ronaldinho Regin again.. Tottenham Arteta: I choose Merino The new No. 10 of many giants Please stay tuned on Daily Laugh. There will be more fun tomorrow!(Credit: zhibo8, Justtoonit, AZRorganization, originaltrollfootball)...
Rashford sent warning by Barca's last EnglishmanMarcus Rashford has completed his loan move to Barcelona from United, and he has been sent a warning by Marcus McGuane, who was the last Englishman to feature on Barca's books."I'd recommend he immerses himself in the local culture and dives into his new community," he told The Sun. "Family and friends will be crucial so he settles down and makes it ...
Tottenham have had a quiet summer so far, but their efforts for more signings are expected to be stepped up in the coming weeks. Further additions are needed to a squad that finished 17th in the Premier League last season, and soon, these could arrive.One position that is to be addressed is attacking midfielder, as was made clear during the pursuit of Morgan Gibbs-White. Tottenham must now look fo...
Inter Miami CF coach Javier Mascherano hopes Lionel Messi enters the 2025 Leagues Cup tournament with more motivation after serving a one-game suspension for missing the MLS All-Star Game, adding that the rest may have served the player well given the upcoming "marathon" of matches.Miami kicks off its Leagues Cup campaign against Liga MX team Atlas at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on ...
Borussia Dortmund have reopened internal discussions about re-signing Jadon Sancho, as the English winger's future at Manchester United continues to dominate the summer transfer conversation, sources close to the agent industry have informed CaughtOffside.Although a third spell at the Bundesliga club is being considered, sources indicate that Sancho, who scored 5 goals for Chelsea on loan last sea...
Liverpool to "hijack" Arsenal's deal for Salford wonderkid despite deal being agreedArsenal agreed a deal to sign Salford City forward Will Wright last week but Liverpool are set to hijack the move as they draw him away from North London.The 17-year-old is currently set to move to North London for a fee of 3200k plus add-ons with Salford co-owner Gary Neville and his side and have been in discussi...
Bryan Mbeumo (C) has swapped Brentford for Manchester UnitedBryan Mbeumo says he is excited about linking up with Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes as he prepares for life at Old Trafford following his move from Brentford.After weeks of drawn-out talks, the 25-year-old finally joined United last week for 365 million plus a potential 36 million in add-ons.The Cameroon winger, who scored 20 ...
- 1 Loris Karius lifts lid on relationship with Diletta Leotta
- 2 Jack Grealish shares sweet holiday snaps as girlfriend stuns in a yellow maxi dress
- 3 Man City to re-sign Trafford in $36M deal
- 4 Barcelona Reach 'Total Agreement' on Jules Kounde Contract Extension
- 5 Transfer news & rumours LIVE
- 6 Daily Laugh - Arsenal has won 1 championship
- 7 Go Ahead Eagles star duo linked to Scottish giants Celtic and Rangers
- 8 Phil Parkinson breaks silence on Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney's shock bid to bring ex-Man Utd star Christian Eriksen to Wrexham
- 9 Ex-Prem star 'drowned in pool hours before flight home for son's birthday'
- 10 Man City boss Guardiola delivers definitive answer to Barcelona return question