17 hours ago
52
Manchester City have been blessed to have Txiki Begiristain and Pep Guardiola at their club but expectations have to remain high
Manchester City has said goodbye to one of its biggest assets this week. Txiki Begiristain's departure has been a long time coming, and he has already been replaced, but it will still be some ask to move on from him.
It says so much about the sporting director's legacy after 13 years at the Etihad that the club have made a special documentary with everyone from Khaldoon Al Mubarak to Erling Haaland queueing up to pay tribute. As much as Pep Guardiola has lifted the Blues to unprecedented success, the Catalan would likely not even have been part of City's story without his trusted friend and colleague Begiristain.
It was Begiristain who kept sewing the seeds for Guardiola to follow him to Manchester as soon as he arrived at the club, making an audacious bid to sign him before the manager joined Bayern Munich before spending the next few years telling him over the phone how great it was in the city and in the Premier League. And arguably none have been more important for keeping Guardiola at City for as long as he has been - and not even Begiristain expected it would be this long - than the sporting director.
No wonder that CEO Ferran Soriano asks the question in the documentary of how on earth City are going to replace him. They already have of course, with Hugo Viana joining from Sporting in early April and already making an impression in two transfer windows alongside Begiristain.
However, it is a point that Begiristain makes that reminds City what an immense task now lies with Viana.
"I told Ferran that 'I'll handle Pep's transition for you,'" he told Guardiola. "And then you renewed for two more years! When you renewed the last time, I told Ferran 'I can't do this any more.'"
Being able to bring Guardiola to the Etihad, and keeping him for as long as they have, has been one of the biggest successes for the club under Sheikh Mansour's ownership. The plan had been for Begiristain for pick his successor, choosing the right person for one of the most daunting jobs in the game of following one of the best managers in it.
That responsibility has now shifted to Viana, and it has not become any easier. With Guardiola committed until 2027, there is plenty of time for him to write more history at the club and there are no guarantees that he will definitely walk away then - as Begiristain found out.
As Viana undertakes one of the biggest squad rebuilds in years, he knows that potentially his defining signing as City's sporting director won't be a player but the next manager.
---
Here at the Manchester Evening News, we’re dedicated to bringing you the best Manchester City coverage and analysis.
Make sure you don’t miss out on the latest City news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe.
You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day’s biggest stories.
And finally, if you’d rather listen to our expert analysis then make sure to check out our Talking City podcast. Our shows are available on all podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and you can also watch along on YouTube.
English (US) ·