Pep Guardiola ‘quit 100 times’ before departure, says Man City chairman

Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has said that Pep Guardiola "quit 100 times" during his tenure at the club before finally leaving at the end of the season.

In an interview with City’s in-house media, Al Mubarak said Guardiola repeatedly half-heartedly entertained the idea of leaving over the years, only to be persuaded to continue, until his final decision at the end of the 2025-26 season.

"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," Al Mubarak said.

"There's the story as you all know, 'The Boy Who Cried 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.

"I always had a very clear understanding with Pep, because of that analogy of the 'Boy Who Cried Wolf': whenever he quits I will always convince him to come back until the time where I know it's actually the real moment Pep decides actually it's time.

"There's the moments that are not real and he actually needs someone to bring him back. And there was always going to be one moment where it was going to be real."

Al Mubarak also revealed that, in addition to becoming close friends with Guardiola, he was the Spaniard's pseudo "psychiatrist", pulling him back from the brink during down times.

"We reached that, and I knew it and that's why I didn't fight it," he said. "In this particular (moment), I think he knew, and I knew that he knew ... I did not fight this at all because I knew this was the time he actually meant it."

Pep Guardiola, who took charge of City in 2016, led the club to 17 major trophies, including six Premier League titles, three FA Cups, five League Cups and the Champions League, but his side have missed out on the league in two years.