Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola isn’t leaving the club any time soon, but while City fans should not be alarmed by any opportunistic transfer rumors linking him away from the club, it isn’t a bad idea to start thinking about possible long-term solutions.
Guardiola can’t stay with Manchester City forever. He has been with the club since 2016, turning them into the clear powerhouse in English football as nearly perennial Premier League winners; he also brought City the 2022/23 Champions League title.
Here are five top managers Manchester City could hire to take a step towards adequately filling the shoes of Pep Guardiola, should the legendary Catalan manager decide he wants a new challenge in the future.
Michel
Partner club Girona were LaLiga title contenders at one point this season and have an excellent up-and-coming coach who could easily be hired to replace Pep Guardiola if necessary.
Michel will get to obtain Champions League experience next season, which should make him more attractive to the many top clubs in European football.
Surprisingly, those same clubs have not been all over Michel this summer, but Chelsea’s and Manchester United’s losses could one day be Manchester City’s gain.
Julian Nagelsmann
Currently coaching the German national team in preparation for the 2024 European Championships, Julian Nagelsmann was the most touted young manager in the world before Xabi Alonso’s meteoric rise at Bayer Leverkusen.
Nagelsmann competed at the highest level with Hoffenheim and RB Leipzig, molding both clubs into Bundesliga powerhouses before joining Bayern Munich, where he was unfairly fired early into his tenure.
With his ability to relate to players, forward-thinking tactical ideas, and experience building footballing projects based around youth development, Nagelsmann would be the ideal candidate to lead the next era of Manchester City.
Xabi Alonso
Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso declined overtures from Bayern Munich and Liverpool to stay with the current Bundesliga champions after a fairytale 2023/24 campaign.
Alonso is the most coveted manager in world football, but it seems like he is waiting for the opportunity to coach the superstars of Real Madrid as Carlo Ancelotti’s replacement.
But Ancelotti has been in replacement rumors before, only to prolong his stay in Madrid. There is no guarantee the job will be open in 2025 or even 2026.
If Manchester City’s coaching position becomes open before then, watch out for a City swoop. Alonso is the top option available, and Man City would be just as ecstatic to work with him as any other club.
Zinedine Zidane
No manager – not even Pep Guardiola – can say he has accomplished what Zinedine Zidane has at the most elite level of club football.
Zidane three-peated with Real Madrid in the Champions League and then came back and rebuilt the Madrid side that Carlo Ancelotti would then lead back to a Champions League triumph in 2022.
Nobody is better at working with an established group of superstars, letting them play to their strengths, and winning in a high pressured environment.
Zidane is perhaps the most unrealistic option on this list because he has seemingly no interest in returning to the Premier League and is probably holding out for the French national team gig.
Thomas Tuchel
Thomas Tuchel is on the market now, so he will likely be headed to another Premier League club, like Manchester United, long before Manchester City are looking for a Pep Guardiola replacement.
Like Guardiola, Tuchel is demanding of his players and of the club. He wants full say and authority over personnel decisions, and he expects his players to pay him the ultimate respect.
Manchester City is the only club that can give Tuchel all that he wants, and, therefore, it could be the ideal place for Tuchel to show the world he can rank with the likes of Guardiola and Ancelotti as the world’s best manager.
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He has been an editor for NFL Spin Zone, Daily DDT for pro wrestling, Autzen Zoo covering the Oregon Ducks, Musket Fire covering the New England Patriots, The Real Champs covering Real Madrid, Old Juve covering Juventus, Rush The Kop covering Liverpool, and Release The Knappen covering Schalke. His work has been featured in ESPN, Bleacher Report, Yahoo! Sports, NBC Sports, and other outlets. You can contact him at the site’s official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site’s official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.