Manchester City announced Pep Guardiola as Manuel Pellegrini’s successor soon after the news broke out that the highly respected Spanish boss was keen on a move out of the Allianz to pursue a career in the Premier League.
Guardiola is a manager that has won all the major honours in world football spanning from his time with Barcelona to his illustrious tenure at Bayern Munich.
It’s no wonder that Sheikh Mansour believes that the Spanish tactician is the right man to lead City to greater heights.
Ever since some substantial monetary investment started at Manchester City, the hierarchy has been searching for the catalyst that could take the club to the next level and now they’ll surely be relishing the chance to have a manager of Guardiola’s calibre in the Etihad dugout.
Surprisingly enough, Manuel Pellegrini didn’t show any signs of dismay over his earlier than scheduled replacement rather a statement issued by the Club claimed that Pellegrini was fully supportive of the decision to bring in Pep Guardiola.
The Chilean boss has enjoyed a relatively successful spell with Manchester City but apparently it’s not quite what the club had been hoping for – by the looks of things, City’s sights are set on becoming a masterclass club such as the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.
Prior to the City announcement, Pep remained linked to a host of other premier football clubs with many pundits predicting that Manchester United would move quickly to hire the Spaniard in a bid to rebuild the Old Trafford empire. However, United’s noisy neighbours were quick enough to land the respected coach.
Although The Citizens are expected to reach new heights under Guardiola in days to come, fans are still wondering why the City hierarchy opted to announce the departure of Pellegrini mid-way into the season rather that at the end of it. In fact, the announcement of Guardiola’s arrival could be one of the immediate causes of City’s failed attempt at the Premier League title.
Pellegrini’s pride at stake 
Having already won everything except the UEFA Champions League, Pellegrini might be keen on cementing his name in the hearts of Manchester City supporters as the man who brought home the most prestigious trophy in club football.
Although City have the quality and credentials to go all the way and win the trophy, it’ll still prove to be somewhat of a mammoth task for Pellegrini and his lads to go past the likes of PSG and Barcelona en route to winning Europe’s elite club competition.
The news of Guardiola’s arrival might have made Pellegrini decide to forget about the race for the Premier League title and focus on the UCL as the Chilean obviously has nothing to lose.
Pellegrini’s pride as a manager seems to be at stake here even after already securing silverware in 2016 as City won the Capital One Cup against Liverpool in a dreaded penalty shootout.
However, by the looks of things, the primary reason for City’s Premier League stumble might be all because of the announcement in February, and Pellegrini might have carried on his Business in usual fashion.
The impending overhaul
There’s no doubt that once Guardiola comes in he’s going to bring in his own set of players who would fit in with his tiki-taka style of play.
There has been a lot of speculation that the likes of David Silva, Yaya Toure and Samir Nasri could be leaving the Etihad this summer as Pep will be keen on bringing in some fresh legs to ensure a successful first season as City boss.
Considering that an overhaul might just be on the cards, there’s an increased sense of urgency at City with the players keen on playing at the top of their game in order to impress, but the pressure to impress looks to be causing the players’ performance levels to drop significantly.
The City hierarchy might have even already thrown this season out the window –Â although they still require Pellegrini to secure top four to give Guardiola Champions League football next season.
Guardiola’s imminent arrival didn’t really come as a huge surprise, But the announcement came at the wrong time, it caught many City players off guard, and I reckon City’s Abu Dhabi owners should’ve kept Pep’s coming as a secret up until the end of the season.
It’s quite unfortunate for Pellegrini, the Chilean boss hasn’t done too many things wrong during his Etihad tenure, but let’s face the fact that Guardiola is a world-class manager and City would probably be better off under him.