Etihad Stadium’s North Stand to be named after Pep Guardiola as manager steps down after decade of glory

MANCHESTER: Following the departure of their manager Pep Guardiola after a decade-long stint with the club, Manchester City announced that the newly-developed and expanded North Stand of the Etihad Stadium will be named as ‘The Pep Guardiola Stand’.

After a 10-year stint which saw Guardiola capture a total of 20 trophies, including six Premier Leagues and a UEFA Champions League title, the club announced on Friday that he will step down from his post, with the club currently second in the Premier League standings. The league has already been won by Arsenal with one match to go.

In a statement, Guardiola announced, “Manchester City are delighted to announce that the newly-developed and expanded North Stand at the Etihad Stadium will be named ‘The Pep Guardiola Stand’.” The stand will, in an extremely befitting manner to honour Guardiola’s legacy, will be open for City’s final PL game against Aston Villa on Sunday, which will be his last game in charge of the team.

North Stand to be renamed ‘The Pep Guardiola Stand.’

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The club owner Sheikh Mansour, has honoured the legendary manager for his contribution to the club. Also, a statue of Guardiola will also be commissioned, which will feature on the approach to the stand named after him. “I said a long time ago that Manchester City should have the very best people at its disposal, both on and off the field. For ten years, Pep has been the personification of that ambition,” Mansour said as per a statement from the club.

“He has made an indelible imprint on the DNA of the Club. One that is borne more from how he won than from the many trophies he lifted. He has the unending gratitude of myself and the entire City family, a family of which he will always be part,” he added.

The club also said that despite his departure from the club as its manager, Guardiola will continue his relationship with the City Football Group, the club’s parent company, as its global ambassador.

“Despite his departure as Manager of Manchester City, Pep will continue his relationship with the City Football Group, by taking up a role as a Global Ambassador. The role will see him giving technical advice to the clubs in the group, working on specific projects and collaborations,” the club statement said.

Guardiola, who came to City back in 2016, departs after transforming the English club into a European football giant, having won six Premier League titles, a UEFA Champions League, three FA Cup titles, 5 League Cup titles, a FIFA Club World Cup title, UEFA Super Cup and FA Community Shield each.

The 2022-23 season saw Guardiola and a star-studded City operating at the peak of its powers, having become only the second football club in English football history after their arch-rivals Manchester United to have captured the treble of Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League, a season which is viewed as the club’s best one in their 132-year history.

Speaking on his departure from the club, Guardiola said, as quoted by the official Premier League website, “When I arrived, my first interview was with Noel Gallagher. I walked out thinking, ‘Okay… Noel is here. This will be fun.”

“And what a time we have had together. Do not ask me the reasons I’m leaving. There is no reason, but deep inside, I know it is my time. Nothing is eternal; if it were, I would be here. Eternal will be the feeling, the people, the memories, the love I have for my Manchester City.”

“This is a city built from work. From graft. You see it in the colour of the bricks. From people who clocked in early, stayed late. The factories. The Pankhursts. The unions. The music. Simply the Industrial Revolution and how it changed the world. And I think I grew to understand that, and my teams did too.”

“We worked. We suffered. We fought. And we did things our own way. Our way,” he signed off. (ANI)