Pep Guardiola opens up on Hugo Viana and Txiki Begiristain’s Manchester City transfer window plans | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has discussed openly the club’s plans for the upcoming transfer windows amid a transition of sporting directors.

The Premier League champions confirmed earlier this year that at the end of the ongoing season, they would be parting ways with long-standing sporting director Txiki Begiristain, after the 60-year-old opted to bring an end to his 12-season stay with the club.

The former Barcelona player and official has been eyeing an exit from Manchester City over the last five seasons, but opted to extend his stay due to his enjoyment at working alongside Pep Guardiola and on the Etihad project as a whole.

However, after a hugely successful stay with the club, he will be leaving after the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup campaign and handing over the role of Director of Football to Sporting’s current equivalent, Hugo Viana.

Manchester City have already confirmed that the pair will remain in contact until the former changeover next summer as part of a transitional period from director to director, smoothening the process and exchange of the officials in 2025.

Speaking during a recent press conference, manager Pep Guardiola was quizzed on the importance of Manchester City’s transitional process from their current sporting director in Txiki Begiristain to Hugo Viana when it comes to their transfer plans.

“I think Txiki (Begiristain) is doing the same we have done, thinking what can we do, if you have to do, something in winter or next summer. He will be involved in the transfer window,” the City head coach said.

“I think talking with the club, with Hugo (Viana) maybe, especially when he will finish his part in Lisboa, and doing the same what they have done,” Guardiola continued.

“And after that, yeah, there will be changes just for the fact that the persons are different and of course, the people who are a long time here will have to welcome and help Hugo to settle here and understand the team, understand the club, and it’s going to happen.”

Pep Guardiola was further pressed on whether Begiristain will be personally responsible or take a leading role in Manchester City’s plans for the upcoming January transfer market, and perhaps more importantly, the summer of 2025 and a possible rebuild of the first-team squad.

“Yeah,” Guardiola confirmed. “The club, I think from what we spoke and we talked, in the winter we are going to do something if really, really we need it or we believe something, we can find something, not just for four or five months, except exceptional things, but for the next three or four (years).”

“In the winter it’s more difficult to do. But we will see, not just for that situation. I don’t know in the last years how many times we went in the winter (market), maybe with Aymeric Laporte years ago.

“Always we are not a big fan of that, but the circumstances this season are special, have been special, and we have to see if we have to do something if possible, if not we are going to wait in the summer time thinking about how we finished the season, how the players finish, how they performed, knowing that we have again a short, short holidays next summer, and next year we will be here and we have to see what we have to do.

“We’ll talk, and we’ll see what the market is possible, because maybe it will not be possible, we’ll see.”