Jamie Carragher brutally claims this season is Pep Guardiola's 'last dance' amid Man City struggles

Guardiola helped to revolutionise modern football while working with the likes of Lionel Messi, Xavi and Andres Iniesta at Barcelona. He then went on to savor more domestic title triumphs at Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich.

A move to Manchester was made in 2016, with the last decade delivering six Premier League crowns, a Champions League triumph - as part of a historic treble in 2022-23 - and 18 trophies in total. More could be collected before the end of the current campaign.

There has been no official word on the 55-year-old’s immediate plans, with Carragher writing in his column for The Telegraph of why a long goodbye may already have been set in motion: “Pep Guardiola is the greatest football coach of all time and we should cherish every remaining minute of his Premier League career.

“It feels like we are watching Guardiola’s last dance in England. The clues are mounting up, pointing to the idea that he will end his Manchester City reign at the end of this season, with succession plans being formulated and his club’s recent transfer activity smacking of his hierarchy doing everything in its power to ensure he leaves with another trophy.

“If an announcement is imminent before May, Guardiola’s peerless contribution to elevating Premier League standards must and will be acknowledged. He is the No 1. Some managers are legends because they win. Others leave their mark because they change and elevate the game. Guardiola ticks all the boxes, winning trophies in such a fashion that his legacy extends way beyond the clubs he has managed.”

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Ex-Liverpool defender Carragher added on a man that has broken the mould: “Guardiola stands alongside [Johan] Cruyff and Arrigo Sacchi as an inventive coach following his own path – the ultimate football influencers.

“Such a tribute will seem premature if Guardiola stays at City for another season, but the reluctance to confirm or deny his plans naturally creates suspicion a change is imminent. If he has decided to go, it is a dilemma knowing how to handle such a transition. Jurgen Klopp issued a mid-season statement when leaving Liverpool, which caused a debate as to whether the emotional impact was a help or hindrance in the last few months.

“[Sir Alex] Ferguson famously gave a year’s notice to quit at the end of the 2001-02 season before changing his mind as Manchester United’s form dipped. He learned from that when the end finally came 11 years later, the goodbye party hastily arranged alongside another title win. It is the blessing and curse of leaving a club on your own terms that you must decide the right way to go. Few in the modern game get that luxury.”

Klopp walked away from the end of his Liverpool contract in 2024, with the German tactician deciding that a break from the stresses of club management was required. Guardiola could tread a similar path as there is nothing left for him to prove.

Carragher went on to say: “Like his great Premier League rival Klopp, there is a sense in the last few seasons of Guardiola feeling a responsibility to leave behind a reconstructed side for a successor rather than having his replacement start again.

“Guardiola’s ultimate legacy is to show how it is possible to win in such a clearly defined way. Whenever we describe a side from here to eternity as trying to win titles and European Cups in a similar manner to his, every football supporter will know exactly what is meant.

“Only Guardiola can answer whether the trophies mean more than that. Such is his extraordinary contribution, he can let others argue in the knowledge that style and substance have been part of the ultimate package.”

Guardiola will be locking horns again with Liverpool on Sunday when City head to Anfield. They are also into the Carabao Cup final, where they will face Arsenal, and last-16 of the Champions League. Another Premier League title is not yet out of reach, but a six-point gap needs to be bridged at the top of that division.

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