Pep Guardiola reveals plans to walk away from coaching

In a revealing interview with GQ Hype Spain, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola made it clear: once his current spell with the club is over, he’s stepping away from the sidelines—for a while, at least.

Guardiola’s coaching career has been nonstop since bursting onto the scene with Barcelona. His managerial journey has been defined by relentless success, with trophy-laden stints at Barça and Bayern Munich, and now a historic run with Manchester City. But after more than 15 years at the highest level, Guardiola says it’s time to hit pause.

When will Pep Guardiola leave Manchester City?

“I know that after this chapter with City, I’m going to stop. That’s for sure. It’s decided—more than decided,” Guardiola told GQ. “I don’t know how long I’ll be away—one year, two, five, ten, fifteen. I honestly don’t know. But I do know that I need to stop and focus on myself, on my health.”

The 54-year-old still has two years left on his contract with City, which runs through 2027. By then, his tenure in Manchester will be the longest of his coaching career—comfortably outlasting his golden years in Catalonia.

Guardiola, who’s often linked with a future role in international soccer, admitted he’s already started learning how to step back, but still struggles with the pressure to deliver. “When you’re a coach, you feel a huge responsibility to so many people who believe in you—players, the club president, the sporting director. It weighs on you,” he said.

City struggles, coaching challenges and Lamine Yamal’s Messi comparions

Looking back on last season, which fell short of the high bar City has set in recent years, Guardiola was candid. “We should’ve made more moves in the transfer market—but that’s easy to say now. We went months without winning a game. That had never happened to me before. It was a reality check.”

Even after all his success, Guardiola says one of the hardest parts of the job is managing relationships within the squad. “I have 23 players and can only pick 11 every three days. The rest start to feel like I don’t value them, but it’s the opposite. How can there not be conflict? It’s impossible.”

He also reflected on his own playing career, which ended not due to injury or age, but because, as he puts it, “my mind had had enough.” That decision opened the door to coaching, a profession that has both consumed and defined him.

The interview closed with Guardiola offering a measured take on Barcelona’s teenage sensation Lamine Yamal, who has already drawn comparisons to Lionel Messi. “We need to let him build his own career,” he cautioned. “Being compared to Messi—that’s serious. And if people are already making those comparisons, it means he’s special. But let’s give him space and see where it takes him.”

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