Pep Guardiola has confirmed he chose to leave Manchester City this summer despite having a contract that would have allowed him to stay for another season, offering the clearest account yet of his departure.

The Catalan's exit in May ended a nine-year reign at the Etihad Stadium that produced six Premier League titles, three FA Cups, five Carabao Cups and the club's first Champions League triumph in 2023. Speculation had swirled for months about the circumstances surrounding his decision, with reports suggesting he had considered extending beyond the 2025-26 campaign before eventually deciding the time had come to step away.

Enzo Maresca has since taken over, with the Italian receiving a personal message from former City assistant coach Pepijn Lijnders upon his arrival — a gesture that underlined the goodwill with which the outgoing management team passed the baton.

Honest admission

Speaking in a new interview with OKX, Guardiola confirmed for the first time that a contractual pathway to staying was available to him and that the decision to leave was entirely his own.

“I had one more year contract so I could've stayed. But I had the feeling that I didn't have the energy that is required to be at the top, or be demanding for games every three days.”

The admission that his energy reserves were no longer sufficient for the demands of top-level management is remarkably candid from a man whose standards at the Etihad were extraordinary. His reference to “every three days” is telling — it was the relentless volume and pace of the fixture calendar, not any single aspect of the job, that ultimately persuaded him the moment to step away had arrived.

The confirmation that Guardiola could have remained for another season but chose not to dispels any lingering ambiguity about his exit. His own words make clear that City's transition to Maresca was a choice rather than a necessity driven by the manager's reading of his own capacity to sustain the standards he demanded of himself and those around him.

That distinction matters in the context of how Maresca's appointment has been framed. Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak and CEO Ferran Soriano have spoken publicly about the thoughtful, structured process behind the succession — language that now feels even more deliberate given Guardiola's confirmation that the door was open to him staying longer.

For Maresca, inheriting the club knowing his predecessor departed on his own terms with his legacy intact, rather than at a point of exhaustion or failure, represents an ideal set of circumstances. Director of football Hugo Viana and the wider club structure have had the benefit of planning a measured, considered transition rather than a reactive one.

Whether Guardiola returns to management at some point in the future remains his own business to determine in his own time. But the clarity and honesty with which he has described his departure leaves no room for doubt that the decision, when it came, was made from genuine conviction rather than fatigue or defeat.