Sir Alex Ferguson cited in new Pep Guardiola verdict after Man City found guilty
Pep Guardiola ultimately left Manchester City for the same reasons that Sir Alex Ferguson left Manchester United in 2013.
That is the opinion of experienced former Tottenham, Aston Villa and Everton scout, Bryan King, speaking exclusively to Football Insider.
The 55-year-old confirmed his decision to step down after 10 years at the Etihad Stadium at the end of the Premier League season, having won 20 trophies in that time.
However, after last week saw news emerge that Man City have been found guilty of 114 breaches of the Premier League's financial rules, there is a growing suspicion that Guardiola caught wind of what was coming.
Enzo Maresca has been left to deal with the consequences, with the Citizens set for a sanctioning hearing in the coming days despite their intent to appeal the decision.
The Italian already saw a rebuild in the summer amid several key departures, and he now looks set to oversee another turbulent period for Man City.
Manchester United 'needed completely rebuilding'
When Ferguson left Man United in 2013, he left knowing the club would be heading into a transitional period.
Star players like Rio Ferdinand, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Dimitar Berbatov, and several others were coming to the end of their careers and would need replacing.
Ferguson might not have expected that, 13 years later, Man United have still not properly replaced many of them and are still without a 14th Premier League title.
"I think you can start saying these things exactly the same as what people said about Alex Ferguson," King told Football Insider when asked about Guardiola's Man City exit.
"'Why did he leave Manchester United?' Because he could see that the club needed completely rebuilding. And that has been proved because the amount of managers that have been there - how many titles have they won?
"They've qualified for Champions League. That isn't like winning the Premier League. He realised it was going to take a lot of money to rebuild Manchester United because a lot of players were coming to the end of their careers.
"A generation change was going to be needed. Okay, they've won the Europa League, they've won a League Cup, they've won an FA Cup. But there's not been that two, three trophies every year like it was when Ferguson was there."
Pep Guardiola retained confidence publicly
Whatever happens to Man City now, it is simply no longer Guardiola's problem.
He defended his bosses over the charges publicly for the three years he was in charge after they were announced, continuing to do so right until the end.
"I trust them. I spoke with them and trust how they behave and how they did. What happened, happened," he said after announcing his decision to step down.
But even if it did not stem from a guilty verdict, Guardiola certainly knew there was some sort of transition period coming for Man City, and perhaps did not have the energy for it anymore.