Pep Guardiola LEAVING Man City before 115 charges verdict gives Liverpool reason to be cheerful

Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool were the only team between 2018 and 2024 to prevent Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City from winning the Premier League title. 

The Reds had to put up record-breaking numbers even to manage second place in the table behind City, while the Mancunians also carted off numerous other honours including the Champions League last year.

It’s been a period of unprecedented success for Pep and his team, albeit against the backdrop of 115 charges for alleged financial wrongdoing. 

City have had their Abu Dhabi money since 2008 but they never managed to reach the heights they did under Guardiola before his arrival. 

Mark Hughes was the first manager of the era and he was followed by title-winners in Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini. 

While that pair had their share of success, there didn’t appear to be the lightyears between City and the rest as has happened over the last few seasons. 

City have been champions six times in the last seven years - and four in a row - and swept the board for domestic and individual honours throughout that time frame. 

Guardiola takes City to new heights

Guardiola has improved Pellegrini’s win percentage, meanwhile, from 60 percent to 73 percent. 

It has been a truly era-defining tenure, the money notwithstanding.

Other teams have had boundless wealth before, Paris Saint-Germain chief among them. But no team has managed to combine that wealth with sustained domestic and international success like City have done under Pep. 

And that’s why his departure might be the chink of light other teams need to haul City back. 

It’s been reported that Guardiola intends to LEAVE Man City at the end of his contract in 2025, bringing the curtain down on one of the most successful managerial spells in English football history. 

Maybe he's getting out when the going is good, before the verdict comes in on the charges that City face. But there is no questioning his pedigree.

It’s by no means a one-man operation, as the accusation has been levelled towards Manchester United in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era, but there is no doubt that Pep is the most vital component City have got on their books. 

His exit will truly shake things up.

They have world class players, yes, but it’s Pep who has brought the games of players like Rodri and Kevin De Bruyne to new heights. 

He has managed to keep his team fresh and reinvigorated, selling top stars like Riyad Mahrez, Gabriel Jesus and Aymeric Laporte when some might have felt they needed to be kept around. 

Guardiola doesn’t rest on his laurels. 

Guardiola unique and that's good news for Liverpool

Whether it’s tactics, rejuvenating the squad or making sure no player at the club stands still, he’s been at the forefront of all of City’s success over the last decade. 

Replacements are thin on the ground as every other manager looks inferior. 

Liverpool might well face a battle with City for Xabi Alonso one day, when he decides to leave Bayer Leverkusen. 

But can you really imagine Michel from Girona coming in and sustaining City’s success like Guardiola? There are good tacticians out there, or good man managers, but no one is really like Pep. 

That’s why Liverpool should be optimistic going forward. 

Klopp has done unbelievably well to simply keep up with City over his time at Anfield, let alone take prizes off them. 

Arne Slot will have to test himself against Guardiola this coming season but after that life in the Premier League should become a lot less hostile.