Who could replace Pep Guardiola at Man City?
Pep Guardiola has spent a decade dictating English football from the Etihad dugout, yet the question of who succeeds him grows louder with every stumble Manchester City make in the 2025–26 season. They now sit six points behind Arsenal in the title race, with one game in hand, but it has sparked serious doubts over whether Guardiola will stay beyond the summer. City are understood to be drawing up a shortlist of candidates to take over, with Xabi Alonso, Enzo Maresca, and Cesc Fàbregas all expected to be in the frame. These three managers have a clear link: a deep, personal connection to Guardiola and the system he built.
1. Xabi Alonso brings authority and ambition to the role
Alonso played under Guardiola at Bayern Munich and is reportedly the frontrunner to replace him, having been sounded out before he left Real Madrid. His seven-month stint at the Bernabéu was underwhelming by most standards, but it would be a mistake to let that short chapter overshadow his previous success.
Alonso’s work at Bayer Leverkusen, particularly that massive 2023–24 campaign, still proves he is one of Europe’s best young coaches. Both men insist on sharp, attractive football, and Alonso has the kind of natural presence in a dressing room that very few managers can fake.
2. Enzo Maresca offers familiarity and a ready-made philosophy
Part of the reason Chelsea moved on from Maresca was reportedly down to the Italian talking to City about taking the top job one day. That alone shows where his head is at. Having coached City’s Elite Development Squad before serving as Pep’s assistant, Maresca is still highly rated by the Etihad hierarchy.
He is obsessed with possession and building from the back, which is a style so similar to Guardiola’s that the change would feel less like a total rebuild and more like a steady transition. Maresca won two titles with a young Chelsea squad in tough conditions, including a solid Club World Cup run last summer, and he is now on the market and ready to go.
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3. Cesc Fàbregas brings a surprising but compelling case
Fàbregas, another former Guardiola disciple, has won plenty of fans after guiding Como to fifth place in Serie A so far since taking over in July 2024. For a newly promoted side, that is a massive result and shows Fàbregas has the tactical brain to manage at a higher level. He soaked up Guardiola’s ideas as a player at Barcelona and has since developed his own coaching identity, organised but willing to take risks. Moving to Manchester City would be a huge step up, but the same was said of Alonso at Leverkusen, and that gamble paid off.
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Whoever takes the job next is stepping into one of the most high-pressure roles in the game. Pep Guardiola built a juggernaut over ten years; his successor has to respect that legacy while having the guts to do things their own way.
