Pep

Before last month’s FA Cup final victory over Chelsea, Guardiola was asked whether the visit to Wembley Stadium would be his last. He replied by saying “no way”, and that he had “one more year [on his contract]”.

But the playful way in which he delivered that line and his quick exit from the room raised a few eyebrows, adding to the mounting speculation.

Guardiola was asked after the draw at Bournemouth on 19 May whether he would still be in charge next season and he replied by saying he had to talk to Khaldoon. His decision was confirmed three days later.

“He’s more than just the manager of the club,” said Khaldoon. “To me, he’s a friend. Over these years we have become close friends and I don’t know if he will admit it, but I consider myself his psychiatrist.

“Inevitably we have had a lot of ups and some downs and in the downs, he must have quit 100 times over these 10 years.

“There is 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.”

Guardiola joined the club in 2016 and signed contract extensions in May 2018, November 2020, November 2022 and November 2024.

Khaldoon said: “He never thought he would stay more than four years, then more than five years. So in his mind, even year four and five it was always ‘OK, how much more time? How much more time?’ And it always had to be done in the correct way.

“There was always going to be one moment where it was going to be real.”

Earlier on Monday, thousands of City fans lined the streets of Manchester to bid a final farewell to the departing Guardiola.

This season’s successful men’s, women’s and academy teams were driven on buses to Etihad Stadium, where they were greeted by a waiting crowd, before the entourage made its way to Co-Op Live for the ‘after party’.

All three teams celebrated their trophy victories on stage, with City women’s striker Khadija Shaw making the shock announcement that she has signed a new four-year contract to remain at the club.

Guardiola’s three children, as well as former captain Fernandinho, ex-sporting director Txiki Begiristain and goalkeeper Ederson – who left last summer – helped bring out all 20 trophies won under Guardiola.

Surprise appearances by current Bayern Munich boss Kompany and midfielder Jack Grealish, who spent a season-long loan spell at Everton, were loudly cheered by those in attendance.

Guardiola said goodbye for the final time in an interview with Oasis star Noel Gallagher.

“First of all, thank you so much for coming tonight to say bye,” said Guardiola.

“I feel tonight that really shows the connection this club has. [City chairman] Khaldoon Al Mubarak and all the people and all the City fans that were connected from the first minute.

“Thank you so much, I don’t have enough gratitude. Always, for the rest of my life, I will have you in my heart.”

Tributes were also paid to captain Bernardo Silva and defender John Stones, who will also be leaving the club this summer upon the expiry of their contracts.

Striker Erling Haaland said on stage: “It has been a pleasure to play with Bernardo and John – and of course Pep.

“We won a lot of trophies and I was happy to play with Bernardo and John because they are amazing footballers but even better people deep down.

“It has been an amazing journey, but we need to keep pushing and fighting even without them.”

Liverpool fan Josh Sexton can be found on outlets including The Anfield Wrap, external

It comes to something when your long-time nemesis says it is time to move on and you actually feel a little bit sad about it.

It feels like a chapter of English football is truly closing.

I actually grew to quite like Guardiola – a feeling made easier by Liverpool refusing to be any competition to his team this season.

Between his compassionate politics and his increasingly funny news conferences, the man who became the bane of our existence has started to cut a much more likeable figure.

The respect element was always there.

Yes, there are caveats to City’s success, but there are very few doubts about Guardiola’s greatness as a manager.

After Jurgen Klopp left Anfield in 2024, it seemed only natural that the man he went toe to toe with for so many years would move on fairly soon after.

The truth is, the standards those two managers set would warp our perception of what a normal title-winning points total looks like.

Arsenal have pipped Guardiola to the Premier League this season, but they have done so with a maximum of 85 points – a climbdown from the days of Liverpool and City pushing each other to 90-plus totals.

Liverpool have fallen away this season, but Guardiola moving on means the barrier to entry for a title race is likely to not be as high.

Therefore, Liverpool supporters should be reassured that a return to the top is not too far away, especially with such a talented group of players.

We might not see those 2018-2022 levels again for a little while, though, and for that we will always – at least partly – have Guardiola to thank.

The Premier League season reaches its crescendo on Sunday with all 10 matches kicking off simultaneously in a final act packed with jeopardy at the bottom ⁠end of the table and nearer the top in a European race tangled in permutations.

The title has already been decided and four Champions League places have gone to league winners Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United and Aston Villa.

So attention now shifts to the ⁠final European berths – and a relegation scrap few would have predicted when the season kicked off.

There is also a good number of big-name farewells. Al Jazeera Sport looks at the five biggest talking points on the final day.

When will Arsenal lift the Premier League trophy?

Arsenal’s first Premier League title in 22 years will result in a trophy lift after the game at Crystal Palace on Sunday.

The Gunners’ victory was confirmed on Tuesday when Manchester City failed to win at Bournemouth – a result that would have kept the title in the balance on the final day.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta admitted ahead of the trip to Palace that he did not even watch City’s match, instead opting to set up a barbeque in his garden for his family.

His son, Gabriel, part of the Arsenal youth set-up, relayed news of the team’s first title since 2004.

“I was supposed to be at Colney (the training ground), watching the game with the boys and certain staff because that’s what they wanted – but I couldn’t,” Arteta said.

“I think 20 minutes later, before the game, I had to leave. I couldn’t bring the energy that I wanted, and ultimately it was their moment as well to watch it together, to be themselves and just see what the outcome would be.

“My oldest son opened the garden door, he started to run towards me, he started to cry, he gave me a hug and said: ‘We are champions, daddy’.”

Arteta added that winning the trophy after six-and-a-half years at the helm was “one of the best feelings that I have ever had”.

An emotion that will be amplified when the trophy is eventually lifted at Selhurst Park, and elevated even further should his side beat Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final in Budapest on May 30.

“We’re going to prepare for that game with the intention to win and write a new story in the club’s history,” said Arteta.

Who can be relegated on the final day of the Premier League?

The drama is stark and simple at the bottom: one of the two London clubs will go down – Tottenham Hotspur or West Ham.

Spurs are in the better position, 17th on 38 points, two ahead of West Ham who are 18th and in the third relegation spot. Only one combination of results ‌sends Spurs down: defeat at home to Everton plus a victory for West Ham who host Leeds.

“When you fight for the relegation, you have to stay inside of the league until the last minute of the last game of the season,” Spurs manager Roberto de Zerbi said. “We have to stay alive. It is a big day for us.

“The most important is to keep the dignity, to keep the pride, to go on holiday like this (head up) and not like this (head down).”

Victory for West Ham is essential and even that may not suffice, with their inferior goal difference leaving them reliant on help ⁠from Everton in north London.

Which Premier League clubs can qualify for Europe?

The other major storyline is the battle for the ⁠final one or two Champions League places.

Liverpool are in pole position as they host Brentford, knowing a point will be enough to secure fifth. Bournemouth, who clinched some form of European qualification with their 1-1 draw against Man City on Tuesday, are three points back, but well behind Liverpool in goal difference.

Bournemouth’s ⁠surge has been one of the stories of the season. They arrive at Nottingham Forest’s City Ground on a 17-game unbeaten run, their consistency propelling them into sixth and firmly into the ⁠European picture.

The stakes may extend beyond a single Champions League slot. Aston ⁠Villa’s Europa League triumph on Wednesday has created the possibility of a sixth English entrant into next season’s competition, but only if Villa finish fifth in the league. That would require a Liverpool win in what will be talisman Mohamed Salah’s final appearance as a Red at Anfield, and a Villa loss at City, which ‌is expected to be an emotional farewell to manager Pep Guardiola after a trophy-laden decade with the club.

If Villa finish fourth, the extended route closes and sixth drops into the Europa League, the continent’s second-most prestigious club competition. Brighton & Hove Albion, ‌who ‌host Manchester United, remain the most realistic side capable of breaking into sixth – they are three points behind Bournemouth in seventh – while a broader group, including Chelsea, Brentford and Sunderland, are chasing Europa League and Conference League spots in a congested mid-table fight.

Will Salah have a Premier League farewell for Liverpool?

Mohamed Salah will say goodbye to Liverpool on Sunday, but in what manner remains unclear after manager Arne Slot wouldn’t commit to the Egypt star playing against Brentford at Anfield.

Salah, one of the club’s greatest-ever scorers, forced the question with his public criticism of Liverpool’s style of play after a 4-2 loss to Aston Villa last Friday. He called for a return to the “heavy metal attacking” that struck fear in opponents.

The outburst – Salah’s second public rift with Slot this season – adds extra drama as the team is also trying to secure Champions League qualification.

Slot was asked on Friday if Salah will definitely be involved against Brentford.

“I never say anything about team selection,” Slot responded. “It would be a surprise to you if I did this right now, I think”.

In March, 33-year-old Salah announced he’d be leaving at the end of the season after reaching an agreement with the club to end his contract one year early.

Salah’s production has dipped in his ninth year at Anfield to such an extent that he was dropped for a stretch of games late last year — leading to the winger telling reporters that the club “has thrown me under the bus”.

Why is Pep Guardiola leaving Manchester City?

“Don’t ask me the reasons I’m leaving. There is no reason, but ⁠deep inside, I know it’s my time,” Guardiola said in a statement when confirming what City fans had been fearing.

The club’s most successful manager is leaving, bringing to a close a trophy-laden, 10-year spell in which he established City as one of the major forces in Europe and changed the face of English football.

Guardiola, who had a further year left on his City contract, will take charge of his final game in the Premier League against Aston Villa on Sunday.

“Nothing is eternal, if it was, I would be here. Eternal will be the feeling, the people, the memories, the love I have for my Manchester City,” Guardiola added.

“We worked. We suffered. We fought. And we did things our own way. Our way.”

City said Guardiola would take up a role as global ambassador.

Enzo Maresca – the former Chelsea manager who was previously assistant to Guardiola at City – is the favourite to take on the daunting task of filling Guardiola’s shoes after a decade of unprecedented dominance.

Since joining City in the summer of 2016, Guardiola led the Abu Dhabi-backed team to six Premier League titles and the Champions League for the first time in 2023.

He won 17 major trophies in all, including the domestic double this season of the English League Cup and the FA Cup. He has won 35 major titles across his coaching career including his time at Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

Manchester City are preparing for Pep Guardiola’s exit after Sunday’s Premier League match against Aston Villa.

Sources have told BBC Sport that the managerial great is expected to leave Etihad Stadium at the end of the season.

City maintain Guardiola has a contract for next season and are hopeful he will remain as manager.

However, work towards his anticipated exit is under way at the club, with members of staff of the understanding he will leave.

It is understood members of the squad are also anticipating his departure after the final game of the season againt Villa, while the club have turned their attentions towards how best to mark the tenure of their iconic boss.

Former Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca, who worked under Guardiola at City, is the front-runner to replace the 55-year-old.

Guardiola has led City to 17 major trophies – and 20 in all – including six Premier League titles, the Champions League, three FA Cups and five EFL Cups during his 10 years at City.

The club’s greatest boss is widely regarded as one of the best managers of all time, and could yet still cap his stellar spell at Etihad Stadium with a seventh Premier League title, having already won the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup this season.

Speculation about the manager’s future has been rife for months, with the question about his tenure at Manchester City often coming up in news conferences.

He was asked on Friday whether the following day’s trip to Wembley for the FA Cup final would be his last visit there. “No way,” he said, reminding reporters he had “one more year” on his contract.

And in a interview with BBC Sport before Saturday’s FA Cup final, when asked if he will still be at the club next season, he replied: “Yeah.”

The ex-Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss added: “I am here, I have a contract.”

But Guardiola says it is up to the players to take VAR out of the equation.

“When this happens it is because we have to do better, not the referees or VAR,” he continued.

“I never trust anything since I arrived a long time ago. Always I learned you have to do it better, do it better, be in a position to do it better because you blame yourself with what you have to do, because (VAR) is a flip of a coin.”

Guardiola was speaking before Wednesday’s meeting with Palace, which they need to win to cut Arsenal‘s lead at the top of the table to two points.

That would still leave Arsenal needing to drop points in their remaining two games – against relegated Burnley and Palace – for City to have any chance of winning the Premier League title.

“Of course it is not in our hands in the Premier League. Always I say to the players, ‘Do it, do it, do it better’,” Guardiola added.

“The only thing we can do is do it better, that is only in your control.”

Guardiola’s side will play in their third FA Cup final in three seasons when they meet Chelsea at Wembley on Saturday.

Manchester City face a fixture pile-up of four games in 11 days next month after the Premier League confirmed the rescheduled dates for two of their key matches in the race for the title.

Pep Guardiola’s side will host Crystal Palace on Wednesday, 13 May and travel to Bournemouth six days later, with the FA Cup final against Chelsea taking place in between on Saturday, 16 May.

The Palace game was originally scheduled for 22 March but had to be postponed because of City’s participation in the Carabao Cup final against Arsenal, while the Bournemouth match was pushed back because of a clash with the FA Cup final.

City, Palace and Bournemouth had been involved in dialogue with the Premier League over the dates for the games, which have now been resolved.

Should City and Arsenal win all their remaining five games they will both end on 85 points, meaning goal difference or goals scored could be the determining factor come May.

This is how tight it is – both teams have played the same number of games (33), have the same number of points (70) and their results are identical too – having won 21, drawn seven and lost five of their matches.

The only factor separating the two sides is the number of goals scored, with City netting 66 to Arsenal‘s 63.

Such is the topsy-turvy nature of this season’s race, City could find themselves trailing by six points by the time they next play in the league at Everton on Monday, 4 May – if Arsenal beat Newcastle and Fulham during that period.

City have previously scored five or more goals against Burnley in five different Premier League games – the most one side has done against another in the competition – and would have been eyeing up similar before this match.

Although City had 65% possession, a total of 28 shots with an expected goals (xG) of 3.54, they could only muster one goal through Haaland’s winner in the opening five minutes.

“Not many Arsenal players would have expected Burnley to get a result today, but if you are an Arsenal player or fan, you would take a 1-0 loss for Burnley,” former City defender Nedum Onuoha told BBC Radio 5 Live.

“Arsenal play Burnley in a few weeks and they will probably not be as wasteful with their chances as City, with so much on the line. Before you know it City are chasing Arsenal. I don’t think psychologically it matters that much.

“Now they have played each other, there is no longer this talk about the title decider in April. You have your five games, they have their five games. If you do well enough and win your games, the league title could very much be Arsenal‘s.

“They have to back themselves. The fact this only finished 1-0 to City when they had 28 shots, maybe this is the boost they need to turn their form around.”

Former Premier League goalkeeper Tim Krul added: “Arsenal have been so close the last few years, I think we all half want them to get it. But you can’t rule out Manchester City.

“My money would be on City, just with the experience. They are serial winners with the best manager in the world looking after them. You can’t not back them.”

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says he enjoys watching Arsenal play as he can “learn a lot” from them.

The Gunners are in contention for a Premier League and Champions League double, sitting six points clear at the top of the table and with a European semi-final against Atletico Madrid lined up.

But their style of play under manager Mikel Arteta has increasingly been criticised, having scored 37% of their 62 league goals from set-pieces this season and just two goals from open play in their last five games.

Arsenal travel to second-place City in a monumental contest on Sunday (kick-off 16:30 BST) knowing they will go a long way to claiming their first title in more than two decades if they avoid defeat.

Asked if he enjoyed watching Arsenal in action, Guardiola said: “Yes. People are so demanding. From the media, supporters, everyone. I enjoy watching them. I learn a lot in many things.

“What people want is to win and we will fight. An aspect that is really, really important that we cannot fight against is [Arsenal going] 22 years without winning the Premier League. They have something that makes them unique. I know that.

“I knew that feeling when we arrived here. For a long time we didn’t win the Premier League. Manuel [Pellegrini] and [Roberto] Mancini did it but for our era I would say, I know how you feel that first win.

“That is something that we cannot play against, that is why we have to focus on the way we have to play.”