Man City fans rage at Pep Guardiola exit plan: ‘This will finish the club’
Man City fans are raging at new reports emerging that the club could look to appoint Enzo Maresca as Pep Guardiola’s replacement amid an increasing belief that he will leave next summer.
Man City‘s failure to win a major trophy for the first time in eight years last season led to many questions around Guardiola‘s future in charge of the club ahead of the new campaign.
The Catalan boss is one of the most successful managers in football history, with 12 league titles to his name across his post-playing career, but some cracks have formed at the Etihad Stadium in recent times as Liverpool ended their four-year dominance in 2024-25.
Football Insider revealed in September that Man City’s poor start to the new season had left Guardiola under pressure, but they are back in the title race now and look set to progress automatically to the Champions League knockout phase.
Vincent Kompany is believed to be in line to replace Guardiola when he does depart, but a new report has revealed that he could exit next summer with Chelsea boss Maresca high on the club’s list of potential replacements.
City considering Maresca approach if Guardiola leaves
Maresca led Chelsea to Champions League qualification last season, while they also won the Europa Conferene League and Club World Cup.
Chelsea chiefs are baffled with Maresca’s recent actions, though, after he hinted at internal tension in a post-match press conference by saying that “so many” people had not supported him and the team behind the scenes in the previous 48 hours ahead of their game against Everton.
He made his name as an assistant to Guardiola at City in the 2022-23 season before departing to become Leicester manager, and could soon return to the Etihad to replace the Catalan boss.
The Athletic’s David Ornstein has reported that Maresca is high among the candidates that City chiefs are considering as their next appointment in case Guardiola exits next summer.
Numerous well-placed sources have stated that there is a “growing anticipation” of this being his last season at City, so the club are advancing their contingency planning, with Maresca retaining admirers among their hierarchy having previously worked under Guardiola.
City fans rage at potential Maresca appointment with Man United comparison made
It will be a tough task for anyone who dares to follow in Guardiola’s footsteps at City, and the majority of their supporters do not want Maresca to be that man despite the decent job he has done at Stamford Bridge so far.
Taking to X to react to the reports, one fan said: “This is how we start becoming (Man) United, not getting a proper replacement will finish the club.”
Another said: “Yeah we’re going backwards, it’s over”, while one asked: “Bro, what are we doing?”
One fan suggested other options that they would rather see hired, saying: “NO!!! Give me (Andoni) Iraola or (Vincent) Kompany or no one.”