End of an era as Guardiola leaves Man City. Plus: Neymar's shock World Cup call

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Plus: Neymar’s shock World Cup callGuardiola is leaving after a decade of dominance Carl Recine Share articleThe Athletic FC ⚽ is The Athletic’s daily football (or soccer, if you prefer) newsletter. Sign up to receive it directly to your inbox. Hello! It’s not easy to imagine Manchester City without Pep Guardiola. Or the Premier League, for that matter. But they’re both about to find out what that future looks like. 🇧🇷 Neymar makes Brazil squad 🎟️ World Cup ‘scalpers’ speak All roads have been leading in this direction, but the cat got out of the bag last night: Pep Guardiola is leaving Manchester City. One of the most successful managers in Premier League history will bow out of his job on Sunday. It’s end-of-an-era stuff because Guardiola defined a decade in England, just as he did with Barcelona in Spain. It’s also City’s Sir Alex Ferguson moment, the hardest act to follow since Ferguson stood down as boss of Manchester United in 2013. Guardiola made City the force in the Premier League. He built their finest-ever team. People aspired to his style, his honours, and his knack for rebuilding a squad. Let’s take a moment to reflect on his record at the Etihad: 🏆 Since his appointment in 2016, Guardiola has won 20 major trophies. That tally includes six Premier League titles, one Champions League, three FA Cups and six League Cups. City also lifted FIFA’s Club World Cup in 2023. 🏆 Ferguson is the only coach with more Premier League championships on his record. He claimed 13 with United. To put Pep’s dominance into context, in only three of his nine completed seasons have City failed to finish on top. 🏆 A single Champions League, banked in 2022-23, is the stat which will niggle Guardiola most. City had the capacity to do it more often in Europe. But that season also delivered a Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League treble, something (you guessed it) only Ferguson and United had previously achieved. The way history remembers these honours is going to depend on the outcome of the 115 financial charges brought against City by the Premier League, charges City deny outright but which could heavily alter the complexion of the Guardiola dynasty. He will say goodbye with that case stuck in the long grass. There’s no guessing when a verdict will drop. He goes, too, with a year left on his contract — but Guardiola’s intention to quit at the end of this season was a badly-kept secret. He’s at Bournemouth tonight, and then at home to Aston Villa this weekend. After that, it’s adios to Pep. David Ornstein reported a while ago that City had earmarked Enzo Maresca to replace Guardiola when the time came. His information hasn’t changed in that respect: the ex-Chelsea boss is indeed in line to succeed Pep in the weeks ahead. Maresca’s tactics, personality, and idiosyncrasies are well known to many after his stint at Chelsea, but we’ve provided an overview of what to expect from him at the Etihad. On the face of it, being next in line after Guardiola is both a dream and an albatross. You’re inheriting an extraordinary legacy. But how does anybody match up to the man? Guardiola turned City’s wealth and ambition into tangible silverware. No previous era at City remotely resembles this one. That said, the past two years have been tough on Pep. The 2024-25 term was completely trophyless, and for all the money spent, City at present don’t match up to the best team Guardiola built: that brilliant 2022-23 machine. Perhaps the time is right for fresh blood. But rather Maresca than me. Premier League title number seven could yet be on the cards for Guardiola, but it looks like it’s getting away from him. A 1-0 win over Burnley last night put Arsenal on the brink. One more victory at Crystal Palace on Sunday will guarantee Mikel Arteta title numero uno, assuming Bournemouth don’t land the final blow for them against City this evening. Arsenal did to Burnley what they’ve been doing all year: scoring from a corner and then seeing time out. Kai Havertz’s first-half header was the 19th league game in which they’ve notched via a set piece, and they’ve been too inevitable to stop. It’s the eighth match they’ve edged 1-0. That said, they got extremely lucky with a VAR review of a foul by Havertz midway through the second half (above). How this wasn’t a red card, I don’t know. It’s studs up, it hacks Lesley Ugochukwu on the calf, and it’s nowhere near the ball. VAR deemed it below the threshold of serious foul play. Yesterday, Professional Game Match Officials (PGMO) — the body which oversees referees in England — conceded that the handball-that-wasn’t by Bryan Mbeumo in Manchester United’s win over Nottingham Forest on Sunday should have been penalised. It won’t be a shock if another mea culpa on the Havertz challenge follows soon. No matter where you stand on retaining VAR or not, we can surely all agree that the current system is so far short of being fit for purpose. A bolt from the blue from South America: Neymar has made Brazil’s World Cup squad. Against the odds (I think it’s fair to say), the veteran forward is part of Carlo Ancelotti’s 26-man pool. Brazilians in general were desperate to see him go, to give a fairly unfancied Selecao team that little je ne sais quoi (look at the onlookers, above, punching the air at the announcement in Rio de Janeiro yesterday). There was just nothing about Ancelotti’s approach to Neymar as head coach which suggested he particularly wanted him on the plane. But injuries have crept up on Brazil, and when The Athletic’s Adam Crafton interviewed Ancelotti last week, he didn’t count Neymar out. Two places in the squad were still up for grabs, Ancelotti revealed. And the maverick bagged one. Joao Pedro, on the other hand, wasn’t included, another consequence of Chelsea’s meandering year. “It was very difficult to choose,” Ancelotti said. “Some players who have been with us will be unhappy.” But the headline decision will keep Brazil’s public sweet. For now, at least. Premier League: Bournemouth vs Manchester City, 2.30pm/7.30pm — USA Network/Sky Sports; Chelsea vs Tottenham Hotspur, 3.15pm/8.15pm — NBC, Peacock Premium/Sky Sports. Neymar’s World Cup reprieve should cool his jets after a ridiculous mix-up left him spitting feathers over the weekend. He was mistakenly substituted during Santos’ 3-0 defeat to Coritiba after the fourth official on the touchline displayed his number by accident — an error the referee wouldn’t reverse. Neymar got shirty (understandably) and waved the paper slip showing the intended substitution in front of a TV camera. He was shown a yellow card before he reluctantly passed over the captain’s armband and walked off. Santos called it an “inexplicable error”. Good job Ancelotti’s mind was already made up. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms