Manchester City are growing increasingly fearful that Pep Guardiola will bring the curtain down on his trophy-laden reign at the end of the season and are already drawing up contingency plans.
According to The Athletic, Guardiola will make a firm decision on his future before the end of the current campaign at which point he will have just 12 months left on his current contract.
The 54-year-old joined City in the summer of 2016 and has overseen a period of unprecedented success with the treble season two years ago the standout highlight.
A decision on the 115 Premier League charges City face will have no impact on Guardiola’s decision but plans a succession plan is already being formalised.
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca, who worked as Guardiola’s assistant during the 2022/23 season, is high on the list of potential successors and is still highly regarded by the City hierarchy.
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Indeed, Guardiola, himself, made a point of publicly praising the former Leicester City boss in a recent press conference.
Speaking after Chelsea suffered a surprise defeat at Elland Road, he said: ‘Look what happened after Leeds. One of the best managers in the world, Enzo Maresca, I know him quite well but, the job he has done at Chelsea does not get enough credit.
‘Winning the Club World Cup, Conference League, qualification for the Champions League in a league that is so tough with a young team. It is exceptional. And he rotated and look what happened?
‘You are able to win games, games, games and after you lose, lose, lose. It only happens in this league, in this country. It can happen.’
Maresca, meanwhile, said he is happy at the club after they booked a spot in the League Cup semi-finals with a 3-1 win at Cardiff City on Tuesday, just days after he had voiced his frustrations over behind-the-scenes issues at the club.
Maresca had said after Saturday’s 2-0 Premier League home win over Everton, which ended a run of four games without a win, that he had been through ‘the worst 48 hours’ of his time at the club and complained about a lack of support.
At the final whistle on Tuesday, however, Maresca was celebrating with the crowd as they chanted his name after a brace from Alejandro Garnacho and a goal from Pedro Neto put his side into the last four.
‘I’m just happy, we’re going to play another semi-final and I think it’s what the fans deserve,’ he told reporters.
‘It was a great moment. In some moments when you don’t win games, they have been not happy, but it’s normal. But overall, the fans have always been there.
‘These are the kind of games that I fall in love even more with the players because you cannot imagine how easy it is to slip, to slide, because they are tricky games,’ added Maresca, who declined to elaborate on his comments from the weekend.
‘I didn’t speak with anyone. I didn’t speak, no it’s OK,’ Maresca said. ‘I always said that I’ve been happy since day one. So it’s not that tonight I’m not happy.’
Chelsea, who are fourth in Premier League and eight points behind leaders Arsenal, will next travel to Newcastle United on Saturday.
