30 May 2026 11:59 BST |
3 min read
Pep Guardiola is leaving Manchester City this summer, and Tijjani Reijnders has fully explained the manager’s reasoning.
Rumours around Guardiola’s future had been circulating for months before he eventually announced his intention to stand down at the end of the season earlier this month. These particularly accelerated in January, when Enzo Maresca was sacked by Chelsea after being sounded out by City about becoming their next boss.
Now Reijnders has gone into detail to reveal what Guardiola told his players about his decision to leave.
“He no longer has the energy to disappoint guys when they are not in the squad or not playing, he told us. After ten years, it is enough. And I understand that,” the Netherlands international to De Telegraaf.
“He is a very intense manager and a football genius. By ‘intense coach’, I mean it in a very positive way, by the way. He tries to get the absolute best out of a group of players.
“In a way, it is a shame that I was only able to experience him for one season. But it is his choice.”
Guardiola burnt out at City just as he was at Barcelona
Guardiola’s explanation for leaving City comes as little surprise. It’s the same reasoning as he announced in 2012, when he stood down as Barcelona manager after four years.
He explained in front of the media on that occasion: “The reason is very simple. It’s been four years and with time everything wears down. I am worn down and I need a break. That’s the main reason why I told the club, in September or October, that my time in Barca was coming to an end.
“It’s not because I don’t have the skills. It is basically because this job demands to be here playing a match every three days, without much rest for four years, under increasing pressure.
“A coach needs to be strong. He needs to have a life. He needs passion and all the necessary energy to show that he is enjoying every match.”
Parallels to be drawn
While there were no explicit leaks from City, the manner in which Guardiola’s departure from the Etihad club did not come as a shock suggests that he had at least intimated to the club that he would not continue.
And during his press conference at Barcelona, he sent a message that he no doubt feels applies to Manchester City now.
“I am convinced that the person who takes my place will have things that I don’t have any longer,” he said.
Maresca has not been announced as Man City’s next manager yet but the Italian is reported to have agreed a three-year contract to be Guardiola’s successor.
