While reports claim that Guardiola could well look to leave City at the end of the season, bringing to an end a golden era at the Etihad Stadium, former boss Stuart Pearce believes he must stay at the club for as long as possible, potentially even moving into a director of football role eventually.
“When you look at all football clubs around the world and look at how stable certain clubs are, Manchester City are one of the most stable of the lot. With the manager, you don’t see the owners clamouring for headlines. But it’s going to be a big, big ask to replace him when he leaves,” he told Betway.
“Whether you look at a like-for-like replacement potentially, they’ve got feeder clubs around the world, but have they got managers around the world that might come in from their other clubs? That might be something going forward. A total change of style might set them back slightly.
“Can you replicate what he’s achieved already? It’s been absolutely incredible. Obviously, I was at City prior to the wealth and the riches arriving. So you can see the impact he’s had. I would try and hang on to him as long as humanly possible.
“There’s been talk over the last few years about him packing it in. Personally, if I was City, I would just keep him there – you might even want to keep him there as a director of football afterwards.”