Pep Guardiola reveals senior Manchester City staff prevented SACKING last season | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has revealed that senior figures within the Etihad Stadium boardroom prevented his sacking during a difficult 2024/25 campaign.

The Catalan endured one of the most testing seasons of his managerial career last term, as City failed to compete for major silverware and were instead forced to battle it out to secure a top-four finish and UEFA Champions League qualification.

For a club that had grown accustomed to dominance under Pep Guardiola – with six Premier League titles, multiple domestic trophies, and a long-awaited Champions League crown – the decline sparked uncomfortable questions about whether his era was beginning to close.

Speculation over Guardiola’s long-term future only intensified amid off-field challenges, including his widely-reported split from his wife Cristina Serra. Yet, despite the turbulence, City’s hierarchy placed their faith in Guardiola, supporting him through reinforcements and a major summer rebuild.

That restructuring has already brought exciting arrivals such as Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki, while the club has also witnessed significant leadership changes, including the appointment of Bernardo Silva as captain following Kyle Walker’s departure to Burnley.

Speaking during a new interview with former Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart for TNT Sports, Guardiola admitted that if it was not for certain figures within the club’s hierarchy, then the 2024/25 campaign could have resulted in his sacking at the Etihad Stadium.

“I’m really pleased I’m still here after a bad season. If I would not have had my chairman, my sporting directors, I would have been sacked, definitely! The results were really, really poor,” admitted Guardiola.

“It’s a new season, six or seven signings between January and this summer, new staff. Football is that; winning or losing, what is the next chapter? The next chapter is this season, and nobody knows what is going to happen but we have the desire to do well.”

Off the back of a difficult season, Manchester City have also seen the appointment of a new club captain to add to the wholesale changes, with Bernardo Silva personally handed the armband by Guardiola.

The Catalan coach said of the Portuguese international’s new role, “We have an incredible, incredible captain! Last season, in the toughest moments, the really, really, really toughest [moments], always he was there. And every training session. And me as a manager, and as a person, I don’t forget that.”

“The human beings we have in the locker room are exceptional, and that makes the journey, when you wake up, ‘Still I want to go to do our job’ – that’s what it’s all about,” the 54-year-old continued on the first-team group as a whole. “And after we’ll try to win. But the foundations start here.”

Pep Guardiola’s admission is a rare public acknowledgement of how close things came to unraveling during Manchester City’s most underwhelming campaign in years.

Yet, it also reflects the deep trust and backing he continues to enjoy from chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak and the recently-departed sporting director Txiki Begiristain – a relationship that has underpinned Manchester City’s era of dominance.

The new campaign now feels like a defining chapter. If Guardiola can harness the hunger of a refreshed squad while balancing the tactical experimentation already glimpsed in pre-season – such as Rayan Aït-Nouri in advanced roles – City could quickly re-establish themselves as the standard-bearers in English football.

For all the turbulence of last season, Pep Guardiola remains at the helm, energised by change and openly grateful for the board’s faith. That faith will now be tested in the weeks ahead, as Manchester City seek to turn survival of an era into the spark of a new one.