Pep Guardiola has promised to call his successor as he prepared to hand over the managerial reins at Manchester City.
Guardiola took charge of City for the final time as their Premier League campaign ended with a 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
The Spaniard leaves after 10 glorious years in which he won 20 trophies, including six Premier League titles and the Champions League. His last season saw him deliver a domestic cup double and a runners-up league finish.
His former assistant Enzo Maresca, who was sacked by Chelsea in January, is the favourite to replace him.
“When the club tell me who it is, of course I will call him,” said Guardiola. “I will tell him, ‘Be yourself and the club will support you unconditionally’.
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“That is the biggest compliment, or the biggest luck that all the managers who have been here have had. You will be protected in the bad moments more than any other club.
“Be yourself, be free, go with your ideas. Work a lot and everything will be fine.”
News of Guardiola’s departure leaked out early last week but it was only confirmed by the club on Friday.
Guardiola, who now intends to take a long break from the game, had however been planning his exit for some time.
The 55-year-old said: “Yesterday I was at home and I didn’t have any furniture. It was basically completely empty. I just had a bed to sleep on.
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“I’ve processed it already. After a few weeks, already it is done.”
On the field, City took a 23rd-minute lead through Antoine Semenyo but Villa won with two second-half strikes from Ollie Watkins.
But the result was secondary to the occasion as long-serving players Bernardo Silva and John Stones also made their farewell appearances.
The pair were given guards of honour by players from both teams when they were substituted in the second half.
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Stones, who arrived at City in the same summer as Guardiola, said: “Looking back at myself as a young boy playing on the streets, to say that I’d win this amount of trophies, I never would have believed it.
“It’s something incredible and we kind of set a standard for this club. I hope going forward when I come back and watch from the stands that they can recreate some incredible moments.”
Silva, who joined City in 2017, paid tribute to Guardiola.
He said: “Pep’s the reason we won so much. He was at the wheel, making the decisions and creating this monster of a team and, on a personal level, he’s my father in football. I do believe he’s the greatest manager ever.”
