Pep Guardiola on toll of football management, plan for break after Manchester City contract

Pep Guardiola has revealed his plan for a football sabbatical which could last up to 15 years and says management has taken years off his life.

Pep Guardiola has said he will take a break from coaching that could last 15 years after he leaves Manchester City.

The Catalan is the club’s most successful manager, winning 18 trophies, including six Premier League titles and the Champions League.

While he did not confirm when he planned to leave City, the 54-year-old said in an interview with GQ Spain that he wanted to spend time focusing on his health and “watching the cows”.

His contract expires in 2027, after he signed an extension in November.

“I know that after this stage with City I’m going to stop, that’s for sure. It’s decided, more than decided,” Guardiola said.

“I don’t know how long I’ll stop for — a year, two years, three years, five, ten, 15, I don’t know. But I will leave after this spell with City because I need to stop and focus on myself, on my body.

Pep Guardiola’s current contract with Manchester City runs until 2027.

The Spanish manager has enjoyed unprecedented success at City.

“In Catalan, they say badar. Badar, badar, badar … I want to do this, simply stop and watch the cows go by when the train goes by. My grandfather used to say, ‘You look at me like cows watch the train go by.’ Well, that’s it, you have to stop and watch it go by. And then life … I had never thought that I would coach, that I would go to Germany to coach [at Bayern Munich], to England, and be the coach of Barcelona, or that I would play for Barcelona.

“We think we’re in control, but no, something’s bound to happen that’ll put something in front of me, and I’ll say, ‘Oh, do I want to do this or not?’ And if not, well, I’ll figure it out. And I think my plan now is this: stop, stop … And then we’ll see. I think I know how to stop at the right moment. The same thing happened to me with my coaching job [at Barcelona], there came a time when I said, ‘Enough is enough. I’m going to look for another challenge.’ ”

Guardiola chats with star striker Erling Haaland.

He left Barcelona in 2012 after leading the Catalan club to 14 trophies across four campaigns. He then won seven honours in a three-year spell at Bayern before taking over at City.

Guardiola reflected on City’s struggles last season, finishing a distant third in the Premier League and failing to reach the last 16 of the Champions League, their earliest exit from the competition since the 2012-13 season.

“When you win six Premier Leagues, there comes a time when you go down,” he said. “It’s human nature … it’s a process that had to happen, it happens, it took longer to happen, and when it did, it went deeper than we could have imagined.

“And I’m delighted to have failed. I love failures. In this society where everything has to be perfect, where you have to post your food on Instagram: ‘Oh, how good, how happy I am.’ Every day we have to prove that we’re happy. Well, yes, I’m sad, I fail, and I lose. So? So? Name one who doesn’t do it.

Guardiola says the stress of management has taken years off his life.

“The important thing is to do it, give it your all, and do it well. And I haven’t given up on that. I’ve done poorly, we’ve had worse results than I expected, but, hey, the next day there’s another one, and I’m going to try again.”

He admitted the stresses and strains had taken years off his life.

“Quite a few – especially if things are going bad, the nights, the day-to-day is harder,” he said. “The job of a coach is 24/7. If not, you won’t get through it. The pressure on your shoulders is enormous, and you need people to lend a hand to put things into perspective.

“You have to try to achieve stability when you have so many ups and downs and you’re up to your neck in everything … A friend of mine once told me I have three states as a person: euphoric, depressed and absent. So the point is to try to stay in the middle of these.”

City were not helped by a number of injuries last season, including to the Spain midfielder Rodri, who missed most of the campaign after he suffered a serious knee injury in September.

“It hasn’t been that bad,” Guardiola said. “In the end we reached the final of the FA Cup and finished third – we didn’t finish 12th. In hindsight, we’ll see that it hasn’t been such a bad season.”

City begin their new campaign against Wolverhampton Wanderers next month. They have spent pounds 127 million on the midfielder Tijjani Reijnders from AC Milan, the full back Rayan Ait-Nouri from Wolves and the French attacking player Rayan Cherki from Lyon.

“Speaking on behalf of Manchester City, it has been very healthy for us,” he said. “Because success can confuse you. It hasn’t confused us for many years, but this year the players have been injured a lot … but I think it will be very good for the next five or ten years. And next year [this coming season] we’ll do better.”

Originally published as Pep Guardiola on toll of football management, plan for break after Manchester City contract