Pep Guardiola has been the face of Manchester City for almost a decade. Since arriving in 2016, he has changed the club forever. He brought dominance, trophies, beautiful football, and a level of control that English football had never really seen before. Manchester City became a machine under him. They won league titles like it was routine. They broke records. They humiliated opponents. They finally conquered Europe. For many years, Guardiola looked untouchable. But football never stays the same forever, and now, a serious conversation is growing louder around the Etihad Stadium. That conversation is simple but uncomfortable. Has Pep Guardiola stayed too long?
After back-to-back humiliating defeats, one in the Premier League against Manchester United and another in the Champions League against Bodo/Glimt, talkSPORT’s Adrian Durham believes Guardiola has reached the point where he should offer to resign. Not because he has suddenly become a bad manager, but because history shows what happens when great managers remain in charge for too long. Durham compared Guardiola’s current situation to the final painful years of Arsene Wenger at Arsenal. Wenger was once untouchable too. He changed English football. He built an empire. But when the magic faded, he stayed. And the longer he stayed, the worse it became.
Manchester City’s defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford was bad enough. City were second best from start to finish. They looked slow, predictable, and weak. United, who have struggled for consistency, made City look ordinary. Then came the real shock. Three days later, City travelled to Norway and were beaten convincingly by Bodo/Glimt in the Champions League. This was not a narrow loss. This was not bad luck. City were outplayed. They were opened up again and again. On another night, it could have been five or six goals. For a team built to dominate Europe, it was embarrassing.
Durham believes that when a manager oversees results like this, he has a duty to the club and the fans to offer his resignation. Offering to resign does not mean quitting. It means taking responsibility. It means saying, “I am accountable. If you still believe in me, back me. If not, make a change.” According to Durham, Guardiola has reached that moment. The defeats were not accidents. They exposed deep problems.
Despite winning 18 trophies with Manchester City, including multiple Premier League titles and a Champions League, Guardiola now finds himself seven points behind Arsenal in the title race. City have gone four league games without a win. In the Champions League, their hopes of finishing in the top eight are in serious danger. This is no longer a short dip in form. This feels structural.
Durham openly said Guardiola has been brilliant, but he is not brilliant anymore. That sentence alone shows how much has changed. Guardiola’s teams were once the standard. Now they are being outthought, outrun, and outplayed. The comparison to Wenger is uncomfortable but powerful. Wenger stayed because of loyalty, history, and pride. Arsenal suffered for it. Durham fears City are walking the same road.
One of the biggest concerns is the quality of football City are producing. Losing games happens. Every team loses. But the manner of these defeats is alarming. Against Manchester United and Bodo/Glimt, City did not just lose. They were dominated. They were lucky not to concede many more goals. That is not bad luck. That is bad football and bad management.
Guardiola himself praised Bodo/Glimt after the game, saying they played very well. But Durham believes City made them look far better than they actually are. City allowed them space. City failed to press. City looked confused. Ironically, Bodo/Glimt looked like prime Barcelona, the kind of team Guardiola once built himself. That irony is painful.
This is not like the famous FA Cup defeat to Wigan years ago, when City missed chance after chance and simply had no luck. This is different. This is tactical failure. This is a team that looks unsure of what it is trying to do. For a Guardiola team, that is shocking.
Another major issue is the missing balance in midfield. Last season, City failed to win a trophy for the first time since Guardiola’s first year. Many blamed the long-term injury to Rodri. The Spanish midfielder tore his ACL and missed eight months. City signed Nico Gonzalez to cover, but he has also struggled with injuries. Rodri returned, but he does not look like the same player. He looks slower. He looks hesitant. He looks like a shadow of the man who won the Ballon d’Or.
This raises serious questions. Is Rodri being pushed back too soon? Has Guardiola mismanaged his recovery? And why, in the middle of all this, is nobody asking about Kalvin Phillips? Phillips earns around £150,000 a week. He has proven under Marcelo Bielsa and Gareth Southgate that he can perform at the highest level. Yet under Guardiola, he has been a ghost.
Phillips has made just 32 appearances since joining City in 2022. He has been loaned out, ignored, and sidelined. This season, he has played just seven minutes in a cup match. If City desperately need midfield cover, why is Phillips not trusted? Why is a player on massive wages sitting unused while City struggle? If Guardiola cannot get a tune out of him, that is a management failure.
Then there is Phil Foden. Once the golden boy. Once the symbol of Guardiola’s success in developing youth. Foden has shown flashes of brilliance this season, but he has now gone nine games without a goal or assist. Against Bodo/Glimt, he was invisible. He could not influence the game. He looked lost. He was taken off after 70 minutes.
This is worrying not just for City, but for England. A World Cup is coming. England need Foden at his best. Durham questions whether Guardiola is still the right man to unlock him. If City are losing and their star player cannot even get involved, something is wrong. Guardiola built Foden. But can he rebuild him?
Another major criticism is Guardiola’s obsession with full-backs. For years, Guardiola has experimented with defenders playing out of position. Centre-backs at full-back. Midfielders at full-back. Inverted roles. Complex systems. For a long time, it worked. Now, it looks like stubbornness.
Rayan Ait-Nouri was signed to play as a natural left-back. At Wolves, he looked electric. Attacking. Confident. Dangerous. At City, he looks lost. He cannot get into the team. Instead, Guardiola keeps using Josko Gvardiol, Nathan Ake, or even midfielder Nico O’Reilly in that position. Ait-Nouri has played just six Premier League games and only 12 minutes since November.
Durham says Guardiola’s obsession has come back to bite him. Ait-Nouri must feel like his career has gone backwards. From one of the most exciting full-backs in the league to barely featuring. When players start regressing instead of improving, questions must be asked.
Then there is Erling Haaland. The ultimate goal machine. The striker who breaks records for fun. Haaland has scored 26 goals this season, but only one in his last eight matches. He has not scored from open play in over a month. That is unheard of for him.
Durham’s point is brutal but clear. Getting Haaland scoring should be easy. Any manager could do it. If Guardiola cannot, something is seriously wrong. Haaland thrives on service. City are not creating enough chances. They are not playing to his strengths. If the world’s best striker is malfunctioning, the system must take blame.
Durham is not saying Guardiola must be sacked. He is saying Guardiola should do the honourable thing and offer to resign. It would show accountability. It would show respect for the club and fans. It would force City’s hierarchy to decide whether to back him or begin a new era.
Guardiola’s contract runs until the end of next season. He signed an extension in 2024. He could easily stay. But staying is not always the right choice. Sometimes, leaving at the right moment protects your legacy. Wenger stayed too long and his legacy suffered. Sir Alex Ferguson left at the perfect time and remained untouchable.
Guardiola has already cemented his place in football history. Nothing can erase what he has achieved. But football is ruthless. The game moves fast. Loyalty fades when results collapse. Right now, Manchester City look tired. Guardiola looks drained. His ideas look stale. His players look confused.
Offering to resign would not be weakness. It would be leadership. It would be Guardiola admitting that something is broken and needs fixing, whether with him or without him. The decision would then belong to the club.
For now, Guardiola remains in charge. But the noise is growing. The questions are louder. The results are worse. And history warns what happens when great managers ignore the signs.
Pep Guardiola changed Manchester City forever. But every era ends. The only question left is whether Guardiola will choose the ending, or whether football will choose it for him.
