Guardiola wants to say 'proper goodbye' after confirming Man City exit

[p]City have confirmed that Guardiola will leave at the end of the season after collecting 20 trophies during his 10-year tenure. [/p][p]The 55-year-old's final game will be [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/aston-villa-W00wmLO0/manchester-city-Wtn9Stg0/?mid=zLXUefTr"]against Aston Villa at the Etihad Stadium[/a] as he seeks to celebrate not only his time at the club but also the triumphs in the EFL Cup and FA Cup this season. [/p][h2]What is next for Guardiola?[/h2][p]The Spaniard was first asked how it felt to be leaving and what is next for him after a decade of non-stop action with the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/manchester-city/Wtn9Stg0/"]Citizens[/a]. [/p][p][b]“I am really satisfied, I don't know the right words. Happy, proud. The experience of my life. [/b][/p][p]“Rest. No plans to train for a while. Otherwise, I would be here. I need to step back. I will not train for a while.” [/p][p]What did he tell the players? "This morning, the speech was a disaster. I was so nervous, more than ever!"[/p][embed guid="e3a92e36-0911-4828-9ca7-b1e3a1746294" url="https://x.com/ManCity/status/2057804464023540181?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][h2]Time for change at Man City[/h2][p]The club were waiting for Guardiola's decision for over a year, with his reported replacement Enzo Maresca contacted last year over potentially taking over from Guardiola.[/p][p]Questioned more on what will happen next, he admitted that it is time for a change and that he intends to have a meaningful goodbye this Sunday.[/p][p][b]“It's the time, it's not go to sleep and wake up one day, the day after and say now is the time to leave. It's a process that I have felt for a while, and always the club respects me an unbelievable (amount) for the decision.  [/b][/p][p][b]“The club, of course, has to be ready (for his replacement) and I felt (it was time). Listen, this job, every few days, many many years, Salzburg and Anfield and Madrid and the FA Cup and (the business) and now I have to see, live my life and see what happens. [/b][/p][p][b]"Ten years is a lot of time, and I think the club needs a new manager, new energy, these incredible players we have right now, and start to write another chapter.” [/b][/p][p]“It's not about when, it's not today or tomorrow. You know, at the time, you feel OK, let's do it. It's not yesterday that it happened or one week ago. Of course, we were in the competition, and I wanted to be completely away from (thinking about leaving) because I needed the players to be with me and me with them. [/p][p][b]“At the moment, we cannot fight for anything else because it's already achieved, so it is the moment to say, okay, I want to say a proper goodbye to my people on Sunday, I want to hug them on the pitch, that is why we announced it.” [/b][/p][embed guid="29806e9d-26ce-49d9-b5ed-12a0b708cc73" url="https://x.com/ManCity/status/2057776045823013073?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][h2]Becoming an ambassador attracted Guardiola[/h2][p]Finally, he spoke on becoming a global ambassador for City Football Group, a role that he says attracted him as he looks over clubs such as Palermo, New York City FC (USA), Girona FC, Yokohama F. Marinos (Japan), ESTAC Troyes and many more.[/p][p][b]"We sat together, and I said I would love to continue to be part of this club. Not manager action, I will take absolutely zero decisions in that. Just to be part of the club, if they need me to represent or do something in the many many clubs that this organisation has.[/b][/p][p][b]"I will be there. I would like to still be part of this club, in a different role, completely different, not in the daily decisions, not being in front of the spotlights, always behind the scenes. I'd like to be part of that."[/b][/p]