Pep Guardiola unsure about coaching return after leaving Manchester City

Pep Guardiola says he does not know what he will do next and believes returning to management would be difficult, despite acknowledging that football can become an addiction for coaches.

The 55-year-old ended his decade-long spell in charge of Manchester City at the end of last season, bringing to a close a period in which he established the club as one of the dominant forces in English and European football.

Speaking for the first time about his future in the documentary A Beautiful Obsession, Guardiola said: “I don’t know what I will do in the future. It will be difficult to return; that is how I feel today.”

He added: “I need to recover many of the things that have happened in my personal life.”

Guardiola, who has won 41 major honours during his managerial career, said he now wanted to spend time away from the demands of elite football and rediscover other parts of his life.

“I need to find myself in different things. I need to sit down and relax. That is one of the main goals,” he said.

The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager also described the satisfaction he gets from seeing his teams perform well, suggesting that the daily pursuit of footballing excellence had been central to his life.

“It is a pleasure and a joy to see my team playing well. That is the motto and the goal I pursue when I wake up every day,” Guardiola said.

Although his present position points towards a break from coaching, Guardiola did not rule out a return in the future. He said the pull of football often remains powerful, even for managers who have already stepped away from the game.

“Football is an addiction. Older managers retire and want to come back again; they cannot live without it,” he said.

Guardiola also reflected on the legacy created by his teams and said the memories of those periods were what he valued most.

“What I am most proud of is the history we left behind, which we saw with our own eyes. That time was extremely enjoyable, and people were very happy to watch that team play,” he added.

Guardiola began his senior managerial career with Barcelona, leading the Catalan club from 2008 to 2012. He won 14 trophies during his time there before moving to Bayern Munich, where he worked from 2013 to 2016 and secured seven more honours.

He then joined Manchester City in 2016 and remained in charge until 2026, winning 20 trophies with the club.

Across those three managerial positions, Guardiola collected 41 titles. He has also been named the world’s best manager three times, receiving the award in 2008, 2010 and 2023.

For now, Guardiola’s comments suggest that personal recovery and time away from the touchline are his priorities. However, his admission that football is difficult to live without leaves open the possibility that he could eventually return to management.