Dark days ahead? The five candidates that could replace Pep Guardiola at Manchester City

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has suffered his worst sequence of results since 2018 after losing 4-1 in the UEFA Champions League to Sporting CP.

Their defeat in Lisbon is the first time they have lost three games in a row since 2018. City midfielder Bernardo Silva asserted the club is in a "dark place," so could it be the end for Guardiola?

Guardiola announced he is nearing closer to leaving Manchester City at the start of the season, leaving the most lucrative job in world football available to the best managers.

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Speaking to Sky Sports after winning the league, Guardiola said: "The reality is I am closer to leaving than staying [after next season]. My feeling is that I want to stay now. I will stay next season, and during the season we will talk. But eight or nine years – we will see."

The Spanish manager took over City in 2016 and won an incredible 17 trophies in his time, including six Premier League titles, four EFL Cups, two FA Cups, and one Champions League.

This season, Guardiola made history by becoming the first manager to win four English Premier League (First Division) titles in a row and the second manager of an English team to win the treble in 2023. Who are the five who could replace him?

Girona FC are part of the City Football Group, and their manager, Michel, could be on course to progress through the company and land himself at Manchester City.

The Spaniard has won promotion to La Liga with the last three teams he has managed and miraculously guided Girona to a third-place finish in La Liga, taking them to the Champions League for the first time.

Could he leave Arsenal for the City job? Mikel Arteta has done a magnificent job at Arsenal, taking Guardiola and his City team to the last day of the season last year.

Arteta spent three years as an assistant coach at Manchester City under Pep Guardiola, but after multiple second-place finishes and an FA Cup victory, Arteta will surely finish his project at Arsenal by winning the league.

Roberto De Zerbi is one of the best young managers in the world, taking Brighton to European football and having an impressive start to life in Marseille, who are second in Ligue 1.

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Guardiola praised De Zerbi last season, saying, "I don't have any doubt; he can train Brighton and all the teams around the world." Could he be the next coach to lead City?

Now a free agent after leaving Barcelona at the end of the season, Barcelona legend Xavi is not an obvious candidate. Still, he knows how Guardiola ticks, having played under him at the Catalan club.

According to The Mirror, Xavi lifted Barcelona from ninth to second in his first season and won the La Liga title by ten points in 2023. However, a resurgent Real Madrid team was too strong for Xavi's team last season.

One of the most realistic candidates for the Manchester City job is Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso after guiding the German team to their first-ever Bundesliga title unbeaten.

According to the Bundesliga website, Alonso led Leverkusen to 43 wins, nine draws, and one loss. They reached the Europa League final and won the DFB Pokal. He could be the perfect manager to lead City.

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