Pep Guardiola caught in crossfire with Man City FFP drama

Pep Guardiola, one of Spain's most successful football coaches, has been caught in the crossfire in one of the biggest financial fair play investigations in the Premier League.

Manchester City stands accused of breaching over 100 FFP irregularities over the past decade. The ‘Citizens’ now await a final verdict regarding the possible club sanctions which could include relegation!

The Catalan coach stated to the press back in May of 2022, if the Manchester City board were to ever lie to him he would leave the club behind.

This is not the first time Manchester City is under fire by UEFA and Premiership regulators. The club faced a series of accusations back in 2020 regarding Financial Fair Play infractions. Is this the straw that broke the camel's back?

Guardiola signed a new contract extension with the ‘Citizens’ back in November 2022, extending his time as coach until 2025. However, if the investigations conclude Manchester City did breach FFP regulations, Guardiola’s spell as a ‘citizen’ might be cut short.

Regardless of the independent committee's investigation and conclusion, Manchester City will not face any sanctions for the remainder of the season. Yet, Pep Guardiola potentially leaving the Etihad might be the club’s biggest problem.

Since the Abu Dhabi Group takeover in 2007, Man City has won four premier league titles, tailing Manchester United in league titles. Guardiola’s arrival at the Etihad did spark a football revolution, merging ‘tiki-taka’ with physical vertical football.

Manchester City has spent over one billion dollars during the past decade to become a major competitive power in Europe. Pep Guardiola was brought in as the head architect behind this ambitious project but has since failed to conquer a UEFA champions league.

Guardiola came very close to achieving a Champions League title in the final against Chelsea in 2021. A tight game that saw the ‘Blues’ go ahead with Havertz’s goal in the 42’ minute.

Manchester City came close to another Champions League final in 2022 after eliminating Atletico de Madrid in the quarterfinals, yet fell short against ‘los Blancos’ in the semifinals.

Guardiola was eliminated by the vigorous Real Madrid, in one of football's most jaw-dropping comebacks in UEFA history.

Winning the Premiership is a great sporting achievement, but pundits believe Guardiola could have achieved much more when taking a look at the large selection of world-class players he has available both on the pitch and on the bench.

With the recent signing of Eerling Haland, Guardiola's squad is now possibly one of the best squads in all of Europe. However, with such talent invested into the team, comes great pressure and this might be Guardiola's last chance to bring a champions league title to the Etihad.

With a possible divorce between Pep and Manchester City right around the corner, the Manchester City board has begun discussing alternate options for the bench next season.

Luis Enrique, another ex-Barcelona coach, and ex-Real Madrid player has been one of the many names tossed into the conversation. After leaving the Spanish national team in December of 2022, he is now looking for a new club and the ‘Citizens’ have been showing interest.

Mikel Arteta is another option being discussed as Pep Guardiola’s successor. Arteta knows Manchester City well as he was Pep’s assistant manager during 2016-2019, however, his recent rise in Arsenal might make matter more complicated.

As the season begins to unwind, we will all know more about Pep Guardiola and his future with Manchester City. The club is still waiting for the FFP investigations to conclude alongside other UEFA investigations. It won't be until then, that fans will get closer.