Now it is certain, Guardiola leaves Manchester City immediately: will he be coach of'Italy?

Pep Guardiola will end his time on the Manchester City bench after the last day of the Premier League next Sunday against Aston Villa. Reporting the indiscretion is the Daily Mail. The Catalan coach will thus close an unforgettable decade at the Etihad Stadium, during which he won 20 trophies and transformed City into one of the world’s most important and successful clubs. At 55, Guardiola has won six English league titles, including four consecutive, a feat never before achieved by any team, and given the club its first historic Champions League victory.

According to rumors, the club has already begun informing business partners that the announcement is imminent. The news had been circulating for some time even among those closest to the coach. The officialdom is expected to arrive on Sunday, so that Guardiola’s extraordinary impact on English soccer can be celebrated with an open-top bus parade scheduled for Monday. The parade will start from Manchester’s Northern Quarter at 4 p.m. and end about an hour later in front of the Colin Bell Stand reception at Etihad Stadium. Guardiola’s farewell had been in the air for several months, since it emerged that the coach was considering ending his Manchester adventure.

Guardiola still has one year left on his contract, and it is not ruled out that he could remain at the club in another role. The top-rated names to replace him are Enzo Maresca (former Chelsea) and Vincent Kompany (current Bayern Munich coach). On Saturday City won the FA Cup by beating Chelsea 1-0 at Wembley, and in the league they remain in the race for the Premier League title along with Arsenal. The Citizens will face Bournemouth on Tuesday night before their last home match on Sunday.

Guardiola has been mentioned by many insiders in Italy as a possible coach of the Azzurri, and would be one of the targets of presidential candidate Giovanni Malagò.