When Sir Alex Ferguson left Manchester United in 2013, he did so with a Premier League winners' medal around his neck. The downside was that he squeezed every last detail out of an aging team and the handover to his successor David Moyes was a traumatic one from which United never recovered.
Jurgen Klopp did not leave Liverpool as champions when he left Anfield two years ago, but he did hand Arne Slot a team in good form, as evidenced by their title 12 months after his departure.
And when Arsène Wenger left Arsenal in 2018, he left behind neither the Premier League trophy nor the players to achieve it. Mikel Arteta required major surgery to restore them as true contenders.
It is clear that leaving behind a coach who has been in charge for a long time can be difficult.
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Manchester City could be about to go through the same thing as United, Liverpool and Arsenal, with doubts over whether Pep Guardiola will still be in charge in August. But if he leaves, he will find himself in a unique position in the Premier League era when it comes to possibly signing with a title and leaving behind a team that, in theory, is only going to get better.
Although not yet confirmed, there is a growing feeling at City that Guardiola, 55, will leave at the end of the season. He has a contract until June 2027, but it was surprising at the time that the extension he signed in November 2024 was for two years instead of just one.
There will be very few shocks if senior year doesn't end.
There is unlikely to be any sort of formal announcement while City are still in the hunt for trophies; Guardiola has always sought to minimize distractions as much as possible.
Victory over Arsenal on Sunday has reduced the gap in the title race to three points with five games left (plus City have a game in hand) and with an FA Cup semi-final against Championship side Southampton on Saturday, there is still a chance of sealing a domestic treble after their success over the Gunners in the Carabao Cup in March.
Not even Ferguson came out like that.
Ferguson also left United with the club on the verge of a difficult transition. Their title in 2012-13 was achieved with a team overly reliant on a more veteran core of Patrice Evra, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Michael Carrick, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Robin van Persie. Only Carrick remained on the playing staff beyond 2015.
1:36
Moreno: “I would prefer to be in the Manchester City locker room right now”
Alejandro Moreno believes Manchester City's victory over Arsenal puts them in a stronger position to win the Premier League.
Giggs recently said in a podcast appearance with Ferdinand that: “Another sign of a good coach is the team he leaves behind.”
Ferguson's successor Moyes made many mistakes, but his task was made more difficult by the team he inherited.
Guardiola has done it differently. He has overseen the departure of several experienced activists over the past 18 months, including Éderson, Kyle Walker, Ilkay Gündogan and Kevin De Bruyne.
In their place, Guardiola has brought in younger players such as Marc Guéhi, Josko Gvardiol, Abdukodir Khusanov, Nico O'Reilly, Antoine Semenyo and Rayan Cherki.
The average age of the City squad this season is 26.1 years; The average age of the starting XI against Arsenal on Sunday was even lower, at 25.3 years.
Whether Guardiola stays or goes, there will be more investment in the team this summer. But any money spent will be used to cover specific needs (a midfielder to replace the outgoing Bernardo Silva and possibly a right back) rather than making wholesale changes. The foundations of the next City team have already been laid.
Guardiola has said that City will be better next season. That has raised some hope among fans that he might decide he wants to benefit from the improvement himself rather than handing the golden ticket to a successor, whether it's his former assistant Enzo Maresca (who is currently out of a job after leaving Chelsea) or someone else.
1:36
Guardiola praises 'legend' Bernardo Silva after Manchester City beat Arsenal
Pep Guardiola praises Bernardo Silva after the midfielder's star performance in Manchester City's victory over Arsenal.
He has already shelved his plans to leave before, most notably signing a second extension in November 2022, and one more chance to win the UEFA Champions League could be tempting.
City have always been relaxed about Guardiola's future, believing their relationship is so strong that he will always take into account what is best for the club and what works for him. It is one of the reasons why there were no internal concerns that he could leave last summer, despite a relatively poor season, because he knew that a transfer in a summer that included the FIFA Club World Cup would be difficult for the club to handle.
When Guardiola decides to leave, it will be a hard blow for City.
The club has been molded around his vision since he arrived in 2016, and it has paid off in the form of plenty of silverware. They could still become champions and at the same time leave behind a team capable of adding more in the future.
And that's something that even Premier League greats like Ferguson, Klopp and Wenger couldn't achieve.
