THE FERGUSON BLUEPRINT: COULD PEP GUARDIOLA MIMIC SIR ALEX’S LEGENDARY 2013 EXIT?
Shay Given suggests Pep Guardiola could mirror Sir Alex Ferguson by leaving Manchester City if they secure the 2026 title.
People are starting to wonder if Pep Guardiola will bow out in style if he wins the Premier League this season, kind of like Sir Alex Ferguson did with Manchester United during his last year.
On Saturday night, Manchester City beat Leeds and pulled itself just two points behind Arsenal. The pressure’s on. Arsenal still lead, and they can stretch that gap to five points again, but they’ve played one more game than City. It’s a tight race.
City are no strangers to chasing down Arsenal; they’ve done it twice before in the last three seasons. Guardiola’s team has the experience, and honestly, that counts for a lot right now.
Arsenal have a great squad, no doubt about it, but not many of their players have actually won the Premier League. That could make a difference as the pressure builds.
Shay Given, who used to play in goal at the top level, thinks Guardiola might walk away from Manchester City if he lifts another trophy. He sees a bit of Ferguson in Pep winning big, then calling it a day. Given talked about it on Premier League Productions: “Arsenal probably have the deeper squad, two or three players for every position. But Pep’s not giving anything away. When someone asked him what Arteta needs to do to win the league, he just said, ‘I’m not going to tell him.’ He wants that trophy for himself.”
It’s pretty simple now: If either team wins all their remaining games, they win the league. Given says he’d back City. He trusts their experience. “They’ve been here before,” he said. “And I’ve got a feeling Pep might leave if they win the league. He’s rebuilt the team; maybe it’s time for someone else to take over, but he’ll want to go out on a high.”
Guardiola and City haven’t stood still. Over the last year and a half, they’ve kept reshaping their squad planning for life after Pep. Marc Guehi, Tijjani Reijnders, Gianluigi Donnarumma, and Antoine Semenyo have all come in. Erling Haaland and Ruben Dias are either at their peak or about to hit it. The city looks ready, whatever happens next.
MANCHESTER CITY REACH FINAL STAGES FOR TROYES SENSATION MATHYS DETOURBET THIS SUMMER
Mathys Detourbet to join Man City! See how the club beat PSG to sign the Troyes winger while eyeing a Newcastle target.
Manchester City are closing in on a deal for Mathys Tel, Troyes’ highly rated young winger. Sources tell StadiumNest that talks are heading toward the finish line, and both clubs stand to benefit, especially Troyes, who want to secure promotion this season.
Back in January, we reported that City had been looking at rising talent in their network of sister clubs. Detourbet and his teammate Christ Batola, both at Troyes, caught their eye right away.
Paris Saint-Germain have shown interest in the pair too, but City Football Group are determined to keep both players within their system.
As things stand, Detourbet is set to sign for Manchester City this summer. The plan is for him to return to Troyes on loan for next season, giving him more time to play and develop.
Troyes, sitting at the top of the Ligue 2 table and aiming to get back to Ligue 1 for the first time since 2022/23, sees this arrangement as a win. Keeping Detourbet, who has four goals and seven assists from 35 matches, gives them a better shot at promotion, even as they sell him to City.
As for the second star, 16-year-old striker Batola, he’s expected to sign a new long-term deal with Troyes, which keeps him within the City Group setup for now. The city sees him as a future option; Batola has scored nine and assisted twice in just 21 appearances this season. Locking him down keeps his talent in their circle and gives them flexibility down the road.
City is moving quickly, especially with PSG sniffing around. They look set to land Detourbet and keep Batola as a prospect, showing off the strength of their global multi-club model.
Meanwhile, in terms of immediate signings, City remain focused on landing a Newcastle United player labelled as a “dream target", though they’re also exploring other options heading into the summer transfer window.
ERLING HAALAND CALM DESPITE FOUR-MATCH DROUGHT: "THERE'S NOTHING TO LOSE, NO PRESSURE"
Erling Haaland and Man City take on Arsenal at the Etihad. Get the latest team news and title race odds for tonight.
Man City sits second in the league, trailing the leaders by six points with six games left to play. Pep Guardiola’s squad, however, holds a game in hand over Arsenal.
If City manage to beat Arsenal today and then secure a win against Burnley, they could draw level on points with the North London club, maybe even surpass them depending on the goal difference.
So far, Haaland has netted 22 goals in 31 Premier League matches, but the Norwegian doesn’t see any extra pressure on City heading into this game. He’s gone without scoring in his last four outings.
“Right now, I’m quite calm,” Haaland told Sky Sports.
“It’s one game per week, which is pretty unusual for us. It hardly ever happens. Honestly, I don’t feel much nervousness because we’ve been chasing all season. There’s nothing to lose, so no real pressure.
“You’d have to ask Arsenal if they feel pressure. I can only speak for myself. I don’t feel much pressure because we’re still a fair way behind.”
Last season, Haaland had a memorable clash with Gabriel during a 2-2 draw at the Etihad. Gabriel shouted in Haaland’s face, and Haaland responded by tossing a ball at the Arsenal defender and telling their manager Arteta to “stay humble” after a heated exchange that also involved several other Gunners players, including ex-City forward Gabriel Jesus.
“It’s always a battle,” Haaland said about facing Arsenal.
“They usually have a lot of players around me, which actually works in my favour. It means something. It’s tough playing with many players crowding you, but it’s a good fight. As I said, it’s always good to test yourself against the best because that’s what you want.”
Arsenal, arriving today, has been inconsistent lately. They’ve only won once in their last five matches and narrowly scraped a 0-0 draw against Sporting Lisbon in their recent Champions League semi-final clash.
