Pep Guardiola threatened to quit Manchester City '100 times' during his 10 years at the club, says chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak
By Ben Morse
Published 04/06/2026 at 16:07 GMT+1
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Pep Guardiola threatened to quit as Manchester City head coach "100 times," according to the the Premier League club's chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak.
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Guardiola left City at the end of the Premier League season after 10 trophy-laden years with the club.
During his decade in charge, City won six Premier League titles - including four in a row from 2020-2024 - the UEFA Champions League, three FA Cups, and five League Cups, as well as the FIFA Club World Cup, UEFA Super Cup and three Community Shields.
Speaking in his annual end-of-season interview released on City's website, Al Mubarak called Guardiola a "close friend" and said that their bond was more than just between chairman and manager.
"I will say, and I don’t know if he will admit it, but I consider myself his psychiatrist," Al Mubarak said.
"I had to help him over the years. Not in the good times - the good times is easy - it’s always the challenging part.
"And inevitably over these last 10 years, we’ve had a lot of ups and some downs. And in the downs, he must have quit 100 times over these 10 years, just so you know, just for the record.
"There’s the story as you all know, ‘The Boy that Cries Wolf.’ In the case of Pep, when he says I quit, it doesn’t mean he’s quitting. You don’t take it that seriously - you have to manage him."
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Guardiola had had one more year left on his contract at City before his departure was announced.
And he explained that he was stepping away because he lacked the "energy that is required every three days with expectations to fight for titles."
Al Mubarak said that Guardiola's time with the club was much longer than he had initially planned.
"He never thought he would stay more than four years, then more than five years," Al Mubarak said. "So, in his mind, even year four and five it was always: ‘Okay, how much more time?’
"Whenever he quits or whenever he thinks it’s time, I will always convince him to come back, until the time where I know it’s actually the real time - where it’s actually the real moment Pep decides actually, it’s time."
Guardiola's former assistant Enzo Maresca is widely expected to return to Etihad Stadium to replace Guardiola as manager.
Although Al Mubarak would not confirm who was in the running for the job, he did say an official announcement would be coming soon.
”I think what I can say at the moment is we’ve gone through a very thoughtful and structured process and the team is convinced - and I am convinced, rest assured - that we will bring in the right manager for this club,” he said.
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Tuchel lauds 'one of a kind' Guardiola as Man City exit confirmed
Video credit: SNTV
”Just be patient with us. Very soon, we’ll announce it and you will be very comfortable that we have selected and brought in the best manager possible for this club.”
And on potential incomings - with Nottingham Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson linked to a move to the club - Al Mubarak remained positive.
"We know what we want, we know what we need and we know how to go about it," he said.
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He added: "And as we've always shown, and I think this is important always to know this club, we are organised, we are thoughtful and sometimes when we need to be decisive and pre-emptive, we will do that and that's exactly what we did in these two cases.
"I think in the summer, we know exactly what we want to do, we know exactly who we are targeting and I promise you, as always, we'll go about our business and be as efficient, as swift as possible."
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