An era lasted ten years, and now it has an end date. Manchester City officially confirmed that Pep Guardiola will step down from the bench at the end of the season - with a final match against Aston Villa at the Etihad. His contract ran until 2027, but the club decided it all ends earlier.

The Spanish coach will remain connected to the City Football Group as a global ambassador. That's the diplomatic translation of „thanks for ten years, we're not closing the door on you, but you won't be sitting in a VIP box at every one of our matches from now on". At 55, Guardiola leaves with a package of 20 trophies at City - six Premier League titles, three FA Cups, five League Cups and the club's first Champions League.

The historic 2022-23 treble and four consecutive Premier League titles - records nobody will touch for a long time. The question is - whether they're bought or made. At City the answer probably has two components, but that's a discussion for a different article.

The current season ended on a third defeat note - Arsenal won the title after City failed to beat Bournemouth. That means Guardiola leaves with two seasons without a title, which by his standards is close to an embarrassment. The previous season they finished third behind Liverpool and Arsenal. The influence on the tactical picture of English football remains huge - his possession style and positional structure have already been adopted by everyone from Grantham to Leicester.

The successor mentioned is Enzo Maresca, a former Guardiola assistant and former Chelsea manager. Reports say he's already in talks with sporting director Hugo Viana about the summer transfer window and pre-season preparations. Beyond the coaching change, the squad will be rebalanced - Bernardo Silva and John Stones are expected to leave this summer.

Guardiola, in his farewell message, thanked the fans, the staff and the players. The line „thanks for pushing me, thanks for loving me" sounds sweet, but the real test is what happens once he's gone. City has no experience of a post-Guardiola period - and maybe that's why they're hiring his pupil. Sometimes continuity is the least risky option, and sometimes it just postpones the inevitable death.