‘He must have quit 100 times’: Man City chairman reveals Pep Guardiola’s meltdowns before leaving club

Pep Guardiola was on the verge of quitting ‘100 times’ before finally leaving Manchester City this summer. The most decorated Premier League manager in the past 10 years, having won 20 titles in all, including six PL crowns, Guardiola said goodbye to City fans after finishing second in the league title race this season. Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak, however, revealed Guardiola came close to quitting countless times during low moments in his reign before his actual farewell.

"Inevitably, over these last 10 years, we've had a lot of ups and some downs, and in the downs, he must have quit 100 times over these 10 years, just so you know, just for the record," the Man City chairman said to media channels on Thursday (Jun 4).

"There's the story as you all know, The Boy that Cries Wolf. In the case of Pep, when he says 'I quit', it doesn't mean he's quitting. You don't take it that seriously - you have to manage him.

"Whenever he quits or whenever he thinks it's time, I will always convince him to come back, until the time where I know it's actually the real time - and we reached that. I knew it, and that's why I didn't fight it."

Guardiola might have won everything that there was to win, but he admitted that he lacked the energy required to drive the club forward and thus announced his departure from the Etihad.

‘Far from peaked’

Manchester City have gone two years without winning the Premier League and finished seven points behind champions Arsenal this term, prompting claims they are no longer the force they once were. Responding to the criticism, Khaldoon said, "We are far from peaked. We are used to - because it's in our DNA - winning. This is a club that is designed and built to win.

"Obviously, with the additions we're going to make this summer, I am very confident. I think next year we're going to come back very strong."

Meanwhile, former Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca is expected to be appointed as Guardiola's replacement shortly. Maresca won the UEFA Conference League and Club World Cup with Chelsea and spent the 2022-23 season working as Guardiola's assistant at City.

(With inputs from AFP)