- Pep Guardiola expected to depart Man City
- Successor already decided on
- Club planning special tribute
Manchester City have made a decision on how to honour Pep Guardiola’s legacy, with news emerging of his impending exit.
The Premier League campaign is not yet over, with Man City travelling to Bournemouth before hosting Aston Villa on the final day.
Nevertheless, the confusion as to whether or not Pep Guardiola will be staying at the Sky Blues appears to be over.
Guardiola will leave at the end of the season, and Enzo Maresca has already been lined up to take the reins this summer.
In fact, Maresca has already agreed a three-year contract, which means an official announcement could come as early as Sunday.
Pep Guardiola set to be honoured by club gesture
The Etihad Stadium has three stands with generic names based on their geographic location, but this is about to change.
According to ESPN, Man City will be renaming one of their stands at the ground in order to honour Guardiola.
Currently there is only one stand named after a figure of the club – The Colin Bell Stand.
It was a fitting tribute for the club’s greatest player, and now their most successful manager will have a stand of his own.
Which stand will Man City name after Guardiola?
The North Stand has been all the talk in recent months at Man City, as its expansion will see the stadium’s capacity surpass the 60,000 mark.
However, the East Stand is the most likely to be named in Guardiola’s honour, since it is the other large side structure.
This would make sense considering the opposite stand is the one which was named after the late Colin Bell.
Enzo Maresca must build on Guardiola’s legacy
Guardiola has done so much more than winning trophies. Indeed, the manager has laid the foundations to build a club who can keep on triumphing for the foreseeable future.
The team are being left in a good place, with some excellent recent arrivals, as well as a few senior players who are proven winners.
It is now up to Maresca to continue what Guardiola started. He must ensure Man City remain a side who compete for every single trophy on offer.
Lifting a third rate European trophy and a glorified pre-season tournament at Chelsea is one thing, but the expectations at the Citizens are sky high.
Guardiola made it look easy, but this was never the case. So Maresca will need to be up for the challenge, because there is not long to go now until his era begins.
