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Pep Guardiola has been advised by his former performance analyst, Carles Planchart, to leave Manchester City and "regenerate" and look for a "new project." It comes the Premier League is reportedly close to delivering a verdict on the 115 charges regarding alleged violations of financial regulations.
Guardiola has been at the helm at Etihad Stadium since 2016, taking over from Manuel Pellegrini as the club's head coach. During his tenure, he has led City to six Premier League titles, including an impressive four consecutive wins from the 2020/21 season through to the 2023/24 season.
Guardiola also secured City's first-ever Champions League victory in June 2023 and has hoisted several other major trophies, including two FA Cups and four Carabao Cups. The 54-year-old has an impressive record, with 382 wins and 79 draws out of his 543 matches in charge.
However, Planchart, who worked with Guardiola for 18 years across stints at Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and City before departing his role last season, believes that Guardiola needs to take a step back if he wishes to extend his managerial career.
Guardiola's contract with City is due to run out in 2027, and he has previously expressed a desire to take a break from football once his time with the Manchester club comes to an end — a move that Planchart supports.
"It's a personal decision he'll have to make. I think a project should last five or six years, no more," Planchart shared with SPORT. "But not for him, for everyone. Afterward, you have to regenerate. As a friend, I would tell him to look for a new project because he still has a long way to go.
"This is why he's been at City for so many years: they've treated us like family, they've let us work as if we were at home. He didn't feel that way at Barca or Bayern.
"He's a football fanatic. His life is on the green, on the grass. He's a genius, a creator. His greatest strength is how he invents football. The difficult thing in this life is creating; the rest of us are copycats. He's number one at this."
There was chatter last season suggesting Guardiola was losing his spark. At one point, City had a streak where they only managed to secure victory in one out of 13 matches, marking the worst form slump in his managerial career.
Reflecting on the previous season, where City finished third in the Premier League and showed signs of improvement towards the end, Planchart commented: "Sometimes you lack energy, and when you get into a bad dynamic, it's hard.
"In football, you always have to be at 100 percent. We had injuries, people were at the end of their careers.
"There was a drop in performance, even among the staff. The lack of energy forced us to fight just to get into the Champions League, and it was an achievement. We also lost the cup final; it was punishment for a poor season."
Planchart's remarks coincide with The Independent's report about the Premier League looking to deliver its verdict in City's case sometime in October, putting an end to a 32-month saga that dragged on for longer than expected after the hearing concluded last December.
Manchester could face severe consequences for alleged financial breaches, which the club vehemently denies.
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