Manchester City Prepares for Pep Guardiola's Departure After Aston Villa Match

Manchester. Manchester City is preparing for the farewell of coach Pep Guardiola after the Premier League match against Aston Villa next Sunday.

According to information given by various sources to BBC Sports, this great manager is expected to leave the Etihad Stadium at the end of this season.

Although City claims that Guardiola still has a contract for the next season and hopes he will remain as manager, internal preparations have already begun within the club regarding his potential departure. Club staff are also aware of his departure.

It is understood that the team's players are also mentally prepared for Guardiola to leave the club after the season's final match against Villa. At this time, the club is focusing on how to best honor the tenure of its esteemed manager.

In this regard, it is understood that the club is considering the option of naming the recently expanded North Stand after their outgoing manager. Former Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca, who previously worked under him at City, is seen as the frontrunner to replace the 55-year-old Guardiola.

In his 10 years at City, Guardiola has led the club to win a total of 20 titles, including 6 Premier League titles, a Champions League, three FA Cups, and five EFL Cups. Established as the greatest manager in the club's history, he is considered one of the greatest managers of all time in world football.

Having already won the FA Cup and Carabao Cup this season, he wants to end his illustrious tenure at the Etihad Stadium by winning a seventh Premier League title. Speculation about manager Guardiola's future has been ongoing for months, and the subject of his tenure has been repeatedly raised in press conferences.

Just last Friday, he was asked at Wembley if the FA Cup final journey was his last trip there. In response, he reminded reporters that his contract still had 'one year' left and said that would not happen under any circumstances.

In an interview with BBC Sports before Saturday's FA Cup final, when asked about whether he would stay at the club next season or not, he said he would be here and that his contract was still valid. This same question was repeated to the former manager of Barcelona and Bayern Munich at a press conference on the eve of the match against Bournemouth on Tuesday.

Connecting it to the departure of Bournemouth's Andoni Iraola, Guardiola was asked about his own departure. To which he sighed and replied that he had said it many times and still had one year left.

When asked about the possibility of naming the North Stand after him, he stated that he had no information about it.