Pep Guardiola has made it clear that he has no intention of taking charge of another club after his time with Manchester City ends. The Catalan coach, whose contract with the Premier League champions runs until 2027, says he plans to take an extended break from football once this chapter concludes.
Asked about his future plans, Guardiola said:
“I don’t know. The truth is I don’t know. But I don’t think so… I don’t know, because you can have big teams helping you with certain things.”
However, he firmly confirmed that stepping away from football after City is a decision already made:
“I know that after this phase with City, I will stop – that’s certain, it’s decided, even more than that, it’s definitively decided.”
He hasn’t determined how long the break will last:
“I don’t know how long I’ll stop – one year, two, three, five, ten, fifteen… I don’t know. But after this time with City, I will stop, because I need to stop and focus on myself, on my body.”
The 53-year-old manager also spoke in more poetic terms about the need to breathe:
“In Catalan, there’s a word: badar. Badar, badar, badar… I want to do that – just stop and watch cows as the train passes by. My grandfather used to say: you look at me like cows watch the passing train. Well, that’s it – you need to stop and watch. Then life… I never thought I’d become a coach, or go to Germany, or England, or coach Barcelona, or play for Barcelona.”
Guardiola concluded with a reflective message about life and his career:
“We think we control life, but we don’t – something always comes in front of you and you ask: ‘Do I want to do this or not?’ And if not, I’ll find out. And I think that’s my plan now: to stop, to stop… and then we’ll see.”
