Former Barcelona and Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Petit thinks the Spaniard may decide to take a break from management.
Pep Guardiola may want to stroll away from Manchester City if their two-season Champions League ban is upheld, in accordance to Emmanuel Petit.
Guardiola is broadly revered as one of the best managers in world football, having enjoyed unparalleled success in the course of spells at Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
He led the Blaugrana to two European Cups and three La Liga titles, before masterminding three successive Bundesliga triumphs at Bayern.
The Spanish tactician left Allianz Arena in 2016 to take up a new task in England with City, and has managed to add some other seven most important trophies to his impressive collection.
City have won back to back Premier League crowns beneath Guardiola’s stewardship, and set astonishing new standards of excellence in terms of points won and goals scored.
They had been on course for more glory heading into the business end of the 2019-20 campaign, however all fixtures have been postponed indefinitely amid the coronavirus pandemic presently sweeping the globe.
Guardiola’s men are on the verge of reaching the Champions League quarter-finals at Real Madrid’s expense, and it could be their last chance to win an elusive piece of silverware for some time due to their latest suspension from all European competition.
The club have appealed UEFA’s ruling amid allegations of breaching financial fair play rules, with a final decision set to be made later in the year.
Petit, who played alongside Guardiola at Barcelona in the early 90s, believes his old team-mate should take the “opportunity” to “step back” from coaching if City are not granted a reprieve by the court of arbitration for sport.
“I think that should be an option for him,” the ex-France and Arsenal playmaker told Paddy Power. “It could be an opportunity for him to step back and have some rest. It wasn’t a long time ago that he seemed clearly worn-out of being a manager.”
Petit additionally raised issues over City’s ability to attract the world’s best players if they can’t offer Champions League football, insisting everything they have constructed “could be ending soon”.
“You never know what could happen, however for me, the biggest fear is not what could happen if Guardiola leaves the club – there will be some other manager coming if he leaves – for me the future of City is not linked with Guardiola forever,” the 49-year-old added.
“For me, the main fear is what would happen to Manchester City if the ban is nevertheless on the table after the appeal. Everything that City has been doing for the past five, six, seven years, in terms of investment.
Everything they have been building could be ending soon. It could change the whole thing at the club. Top players desire to play in top competitions.”
