In recent weeks, it has been reported that Pep Guardiola might just be saying farewell to Manchester City at the end of the 2025/2026 EPL season. As these reports intensifies, there have been speculations about coaches who would be a good fit to Pep Guardiola shoes at Manchester City.
If you’ve also wondered about that, then this post has been designed to satisfy that answer. In this post, you’ll be reading about four managers that could replace Pep Guardiola at Manchester City when he retires. You’ll see how these coaches fits into the style of play and what they’ll be bring to the table.
Managers That Could Replace Pep Guardiola at Manchester City When He Retires
Here are four managers that could replace Pep Guardiola at Manchester City when he retires;
1. Roberto De Zerbi
Ever since he came into the EPL with Brighton, Roberto De Zerbi has always been nicknamed as “little Guardiola”. This is because his teams have a similar buildup pattern to Pep Guardiola. Just like Pep Guardiola teams, the teams thrive on playing under risks rather than having total control.
Most times, De Zerbi teams are known to build up from the back slowly in order to invite the pressure from the opposing team. With this style, tebu are able to break the press by making sharp passes into space thereby turning defense into attack quickly. In fact, De Zerbi is a kind of manager that isn’t afraid of the threats. Rather, he is one who is interested in scoring more goals that the opponents.
With this style of play, Roberto De Zerbi while he was in the English Premier League with Brighton, he defeated strong teams. Some of the teams that he best with this style of play includes Manchester United, Arsenal and even Liverpool.
Most especially against Liverpool, De Zerbi was able to bypass Liverpool’s strong press which was at its peak when Jurgen Kloop was Liverpool’s manager. All of these evidences provide that De Zerbi is a coach who is true to his style regardless of the teams he is facing.
Well, if he becomes the Manchester City manager after Pep Guardiola, De Zerbi would be able to get defenders who are naturally good with playing at the back. In addition, he would get midfielders who can properly execute his tactics. We are talking about players such as John Stone, Rodri, Bernardo Silva, Cherki and the many others.
However, with De Zerbi, there would be a slight change in tactics. For Pep Guardiola, winning comes through direct pressing from the first minute. On the other hand, Roberto De Zerbi invites the pressure and then escape it through sharp passes.
2. Enzo Maresca
Enzo Maresca is a direct student of the Pep Guardiola school of thought. He is one of the managers who have had a privilege sharing the bench with Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. Enzo Maresca style of coaching is much more calmer compared to Pep Guardiola.
For him, the focus is on slowing the game to have control and then increase the tempo suddenly to exploit weakness in the team. In this style of play, the use of an inverted fullbacks are rally important is building structure.
In a way, this style is similar to Pep Guardiola where the ball is plays calmly until spaces are identified in the opposing team. Also, so far at Chelsea, Enzo Maresca has shown that he can led a calm head when it comes to maintain a close relationship with the club’s board. This is what every club board owners want.
They want a coach who is transparent with the press and also with the board when issues come up. Well, Enzo Maresca reflects that perfectly. This could really give him an edge over all other candidates if his name comes up especially given his familiarity with the board and the players at Manchester City.
3. Xavi Hernández
Xavi Hernandez is a former FC Barcelona coach whose style of play is largely dependent on retaining possession. Along with that, his style also is deeply rooted in stretching the pitch as much as possible for the opponents.
Just like Pep Guardiola, Xavi Hernandez comes from the Johan Cruyff school of thought were positional discipline is not taken for granted. Also, where control of the space dictates how the game would turn out for the team. In essence, there is always a space to exploit, you just have to find it.
Xavi Hernández’s footballing worldview is deeply rooted in positional discipline, spatial occupation, and control through possession. His teams seek dominance by monopolising the ball, stretching the pitch horizontally, and compressing it vertically.
This approach aligns historically with Guardiola’s ideas, not by coincidence, but by shared education. Xavi views football as a positional puzzle, where control of space dictates control of the game.
Taking a close look at Manchester City, one can conclude that Manchester City’s midfield intelligence would suit Xavi’s preferences well. For example, we’ve seen how players like Nico Gonzalez, Bernardo Silva, and Rodri show that they are knowledgeable about positional awareness required to exploit tight interior spaces.
So, we can conclude that under Xavi, Manchester City could maintain dominance through control rather than relentless pressing. Well, this style is not really proven in the English Premier League yet, only Xavi Hernandez would know what to do if he is hired.
READ THIS: See Four Brothers Who Played for the Same Football Club
4. Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Zidane stands out from the other managers mentioned due to his management skills and being an authority in the dressing room. At Real Madrid, Zinedine Zidane really thrived in environments where they were players with big ego. Despite that, he was able to earn the respect of the players in the dressing room and they delivered the results that he wanted.
If he is employed as the next Manchester City manager after Pep Guardiola, Zidane would represent a new approach to games. With Pep Guardiola, it was years of tactical discussion with specific instructions. On the other hand, with Zidane, Manchester City that might get loosened a bit. Zinedine Zidane’s approach allows players to express themselves rather than too much tactics.
Conclusion
Pep Guardiola will be remembered as an legendary manager for Manchester City when he retires. As a result, it will be a big challenge for the club to find a manager who would fit the shoes of Pep Guardiola exactly. The next manager that they choose would surely determine how the club would go in the next few years.