A press release from Manchester City regarding Pep Guardiola: Manchester City can confirm that Pep Guardiola will step down from his role as Manager this summer.
The Catalan, who joined City in 2016, will depart as City’s most successful manager after an amazing decade of success at the Etihad Stadium, winning 20 trophies.
Despite his departure as Manager of Manchester City, Pep will continue his relationship with 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.
In just his second season at the Club, Pep delivered a historic Premier League triumph, guiding his side to the title with a record-breaking 100-point haul – which remains an all-time competition record. The campaign proved one of the greatest and most dominant in Premier League history as his team set multiple records, including most goals scored (106), most wins (32), most away points (50), the biggest goal difference (+79) and the largest winning margin (19 points).
Another exceptional campaign followed in 2018/19 as Pep’s side became the first team in the history of English football to win all four domestic trophies in a single season, winning the Premier League, the FA Cup, the League Cup and the Community Shield.
The 2022/23 season is considered as the one of the greatest in football history as Pep’s team secured a historic Treble – becoming only the second English side to achieve that feat. After winning a third consecutive Premier League title, City defeated Manchester United in the FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium before overcoming Inter Milan at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul a week later to claim their first-ever UEFA Champions League crown.
Victory in the UEFA Super Cup Final followed in August of that year, defeating Sevilla in a penalty shootout in Athens. City were then crowned world champions in Jeddah, defeating Fluminense in the FIFA Club World Cup Final. In doing so, City became the first English club in history to hold all five trophies in a calendar year.
The 2023/24 season brought yet more history under Pep’s leadership, as he guided City to a fourth Premier League title in a row, becoming the first club in history of English football to win four top-flight titles in succession.
And during the 2025/26 season, the Club have secured a Cup double, with the team winning the FA Cup and Carabao Cup. Pep will now step down after managing 593 games for City, which will mean he boasts the highest number of games in charge of any manager in our history.
Pep’s achievements have seen him named Premier League Manager of the Season on five occasions and he has claimed the League Managers Association’s Manager of the Year award three times – more recognition of his sustained excellence at the very highest levels of the game.
Away from the accolades, Pep’s legacy extends far beyond Manchester City, with his influence and tactical philosophy leaving a profound and lasting imprint across the English football pyramid, recognised and admired throughout the game.
The Catalan has also become an adopted Mancunian across his ten years at the Club, certified by his awarding of an honorary degree by the University of Manchester at a ceremony in the historic Whitworth Hall, recognising his extraordinary contribution to the city of Manchester.
A crowd of 947 attended the Mini-Com (as the regional athletics stadium next to the City Of Manchester Stadium was dubbed by City at the time), watching Manchester City win for the first time at home in the Women’s Super League on this day (21 May) in 2014. The game ended in a 2-0 win over Everton with the first goal being an own goal (25 minutes) and then Jill Scott added a second in the 46th minute. Photo is of Jill Scott kicking off at the club’s first home WSL game the previous month.
If you’re interested in the history of women’s football then you may be interested in my Authorised History of the Manchester Corinthians. You can get your name in the second edition if you subscribe to it here. All subscribers will get a copy of the second edition book (posted out before it appears in the shops) and your name will be included in a special roll of honour published within the book if ordered before publication:
UK ONLY – Manchester Corinthians: The Authorised History (second edition)
The story of a pioneering women’s club as told to Gary James by those who were there. This is UK only at £19.95 (incl UK postage and packaging). Outside UK contact for additional postage costs. This revised and updated second edition will be a paperback edition and contain more pages than the first edition.
£19.95
Opportunities to buy multiple copies, sponsor the book or donate to ensure it’s published to the size and standard the women who played deserve exist. Please email Gary@GJFootballArchive.com for more information on those opportunities.
This book is a must for anyone interested in Manchester or women’s football and will consist of over 360 pages. It will be fully illustrated throughout and subscribers can order it now for £19.95 (including UK postage and packaging). All orders received before publication will have the purchaser’s name included within the special roll of honour at the back of the book. You can order the book for someone else – all details will be checked and confirmed before publication.
The book will be published this October (2026).
If you live outside the UK then please contact for details of additional postage costs.
You do not need to have a PayPal account to order – use the ‘Pay with PayPal’ button above and it will give you the option to pay by credit/debit card without creating a PayPal account.
This image is of the Old Boar’s Head, Withy Grove, Manchester. On this day (21 May) in 1894 a momentous event connected with Manchester football was held here. Read on for details of what that was….
Manchester was celebrating on this day in 1894. Not only did Queen Victoria open the Manchester Ship Canal that day but Manchester City Football Club was admitted into the Football League. The club had no players; little money and there were still question marks over the ground they would use but somehow they headed the vote for admission/re-election to the League. The full story was covered earlier this year when I did a hour long talk on it all. Subscribers can watch that below:
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Each year, following the end of the UEFA football season I update the UEFA European Span of Success table. What is this? It’s a list of those clubs who have won two or more (sorry Palace) major UEFA tournaments showing the span between their first UEFA success and their most recent. The list may surprise some who think that football is all about those perceived as European giants with ‘history’. This is how the table stands today (19 May 2026). Chelsea and Tottenham have moved up the table in recent seasons.
UEFA European Major Trophy Span of Success 2025
I can imagine a few Arsenal fans looking at this and saying ‘Why aren’t we on there?’ They won the Fairs Cup in 1970 and the ECWC in 1994 BUT the Fairs Cup wasn’t a UEFA tournament and had some odd entry rules over the years! For your benefit here’s a table including the Fairs Cup lower down on this page. The above table includes the four major UEFA tournaments: European Cup/Champions League; European Cup Winner’s Cup; UEFA Cup/Europa League & the Europa Conference League. It does not include non-UEFA tournaments such as the Mitropa Cup and Fairs Cup. Nor does it include the Intertoto Cup or similar.
So why are they excluded… I recognise that the Mitropa Cup had some significant clubs competing in it. However, it was predominantly an East European competition and participants were not spread over the entire continent.
With the Fairs Cup… It is true that this was later transformed into the UEFA Cup and I have included all UEFA Cup finals in my analysis. But the Fairs Cup had an odd series of entry rules at times. Cities, rather than clubs, often entered with Barcelona beating London in one final for example. It was set up as a friendly type of competition with cities that had staged trade fairs playing each other. As time wore on entry came via the League Cup or League position in England, which added significance to it. But two teams from the same city were not allowed to participate, which meant that teams finishing way down the table could be (and were) included if those above them were multiple clubs from the same city.
In 1970 Manchester City’s Mike Doyle joked that by winning the League Cup he was satisfying his aim of ‘keeping United out of Europe’ (he joked about creating car stickers with that slogan!) because it appeared at that time that United’s only chance of Europe had gone with City’s qualification for the Fairs Cup.
City went on to win the ECWC that season, meaning that Fairs Cup place was opened up to League position, but United had finished lower down the table anyway and qualified for the Watney Cup instead. Actually, the Watney Cup is one worth talking about, but I’ll save that for another day. In 1970 Fourth placed Derby County qualified for the Watney Cup, while 5th to 7th (Liverpool, Coventry and Newcastle) all got a Fairs Cup place, alongside 12th placed Arsenal (Fairs Cup winners). I’ve not investigated this fully but it does seem odd that the Watney Cup took precedence over the Fairs Cup.
Arsenal’s 1970 Fairs Cup success was their first European trophy but is not included in the span, neither are those Fairs Cup wins of Barcelona. However, as quite a few Arsenal fans seemed to get a bit upset when the table was posted the other year I’ve decided to include the Fairs Cup in the following version of the table. So this table is the winners of the main UEFA competitions I mentioned earlier plus the Fairs Cup with its odd rules:
Club
First Major European trophy won
Span
First Major European success
Most Recent Major European trophy won
Real Madrid
EC
68
1956
2024
Tottenham
ECWC
62
1963
2025
Roma
Fairs
61
1961
2022
West Ham
ECWC
58
1965
2023
Barcelona
Fairs
57
1958
2015
Atletico Madrid
ECWC
56
1962
2018
Chelsea
ECWC
54
1971
2025
Bayern Munchen
ECWC
53
1967
2020
Manchester City
ECWC
53
1970
2023
Manchester United
EC
49
1968
2017
Liverpool
UEFA
46
1973
2019
Inter Milan
EC
43
1964
2007
Valencia
Fairs
42
1962
2004
Eintracht Frankfurt
UEFA
42
1980
2022
AC Milan
EC
40
1963
2003
Feyernoord
EC
32
1970
2002
Real Zaragoza
Fairs
31
1964
1995
Borussia Dortmund
ECWC
31
1966
1997
Paris Saint-Germain
ECWC
29
1996
2025
Arsenal
Fairs
24
1970
1994
Ajax
EC
24
1971
1995
Porto
EC
24
1987
2011
Juventus
UEFA
19
1977
1996
Sevilla
UEFA
17
2006
2023
Dynamo Kyiv
ECWC
11
1975
1986
PSV Eindhoven
UEFA
10
1978
1988
Anderlecht
ECWC
7
1976
1983
Parma
ECWC
6
1993
1999
Borussia Moenchengladbach
UEFA
4
1975
1979
Leeds United (BOTH FAIRS CUP)
Fairs
3
1968
1971
Benfica
EC
1
1961
1962
Nottingham Forest
EC
1
1979
1980
Obviously, neither table shows the number of major trophies won, but it does indicate trophy-winning longevity for those who obsess over ‘my cup’s bigger than yours’ and similar debates. Personally, I think we should all be proud of our club’s achievements and not worry about what a rival has won.
Hopefully, those Arsenal fans who were somewhat upset last year will now be happy. Note that both Roma and Barcelona have moved up the table. Both ‘Rome’ and ‘Barcelona’ won the Fairs Cup when it was city based and not club based, adding to the questionable nature of including the Fairs Cup. ‘London’ once competed in it!
Arsenal are now 20th in this combined table, behind their fellow English clubs Tottenham, West Ham, City, Chelsea, United and Liverpool. But they could move up, as could Aston Villa.
As an example of the odd qualification rules in place for the Fairs Cup at times it’s worth looking at the 1969 qualification via the English League system.
In 1969 champions Leeds entered the European Cup. The ECWC place went to FA Cup winners Manchester City and the Fairs Cup places went to: Arsenal (4th), Southampton (7th) and Newcastle (9th). Swindon had won the League Cup, beating Arsenal in the final, but the Fairs Cup organisers wouldn’t allow them to participate as they were not a top flight club! This adds to the reason the competition is usually excluded. It is certainly not a UEFA competition in any case.
Similarly, Everton (3rd), Chelsea (5th), Spurs (6th) and West Ham (8th) who all finished above Newcastle were denied because of the rule that only one club from each city be allowed. So Liverpool and Arsenal’s inclusion meant their rivals stood less chance of winning the trophy than Newcastle simply because there were multiple clubs in their cities.
That rule does make me wonder what would have happened if both Manchester clubs had qualified for the competition as City are within the city of Manchester boundaries and United are not. Would the two clubs have challenged any decision not to include one of them based on the age old argument of Manchester’s boundaries?
Maybe I’ll post more on the odd rules of football competitions and tell the story of some of those long forgotten competitions.
If you’re interested in the wider span of success for English clubs (listing those who have the longest span between their first trophy and most recent, not simply European trophies) then take a look at this I posted Sunday:
If you enjoy all the free material on my website and would like to support my research and keep this website going (but don’t want to subscribe) then why not make a one-time donation (or buy me a coffee). All support for my research is valued and welcome. It allows me to keep some free material available for all. Thanks.
A crowd of 829 attended Manchester City Women’s WSL game away against Arsenal on this day (18 May) in 2014. This was a historic day as City not only scored their first goal in the WSL but they also defeated Arsenal. The historic goal was scored by Toni Duggan in the 11th minute and the match ended 1-0. The photo is of Duggan (far right) with Neil Mather (the original manager of Manchester City’s women’s team when founded in 1988) and Debbie Darbyshire (who played in the club’s historic first game back in 1988).
If you’re interested in the history of women’s football then you may be interested in my Authorised History of the Manchester Corinthians. You can get your name in the second edition if you subscribe to it here. All subscribers will get a copy of the second edition book (posted out before it appears in the shops) and your name will be included in a special roll of honour published within the book if ordered before publication:
UK ONLY – Manchester Corinthians: The Authorised History (second edition)
The story of a pioneering women’s club as told to Gary James by those who were there. This is UK only at £19.95 (incl UK postage and packaging). Outside UK contact for additional postage costs. This revised and updated second edition will be a paperback edition and contain more pages than the first edition.
£19.95
Opportunities to buy multiple copies, sponsor the book or donate to ensure it’s published to the size and standard the women who played deserve exist. Please email Gary@GJFootballArchive.com for more information on those opportunities.
This book is a must for anyone interested in Manchester or women’s football and will consist of over 360 pages. It will be fully illustrated throughout and subscribers can order it now for £19.95 (including UK postage and packaging). All orders received before publication will have the purchaser’s name included within the special roll of honour at the back of the book. You can order the book for someone else – all details will be checked and confirmed before publication.
The book will be published this October (2026).
If you live outside the UK then please contact for details of additional postage costs.
You do not need to have a PayPal account to order – use the ‘Pay with PayPal’ button above and it will give you the option to pay by credit/debit card without creating a PayPal account.
On this day (18 May) in 1966 Second Division Champions Manchester City and second placed Southampton played out a goalless draw to end the season at Maine Road in front of 34,653. The Second Division trophy was presented that day.
Were you there that day? If you were please feel free to add your comments.
You can find out more on Manchester City during the 1965-66 season by reading the following 4100 word article. As with most of the other features in this series it includes words from interviews I have performed with those who were there. This is a subscriber article (see below).
Subscribe to get access
Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (cancel anytime) or sign up for a year at the discounted price of £20 per year (works out £1.67 per month). Subscribers access the 1000+ articles posted so far and the others scheduled during the life of your subscription.
If you enjoy all the free material on my website and would like to support my research and keep this website going (but don’t want to subscribe) then why not make a one-time donation (or buy me a coffee). All support for my research is valued and welcome. It allows me to keep some free material available for all. Thanks.
Every year, once the domestic season ends I update the table showing the English clubs’ span of success – i.e. the number of years between a club’s first major success (FA Cup, League, League Cup, major European trophy) and their most recent. Here’s the table as it stands today (17 May 2026) after Manchester City’s success in the FA Cup. Obviously, there’s a chance for Arsenal (currently 11th), Aston Villa (7th but could be top if they win their European final) and Crystal Palace (just on the table following last year’s FAC success but could rise above those other ‘one major trophy’ clubs) to move up the table this month.
2026 Span of Success (as of 17/5/26, after FAC final)
Even if Arsenal do win the League or Champions League this year they’ll only rise to ninth as they didn’t win a major trophy until the 1930s.
For comparison purposes here’s the table after the 2023-24 season ended (see below). Notice the moves up the table of Spurs and Newcastle in recent seasons:
As I always say, the span of success does not show how many trophies each club has won nor does it show how frequently that club has experienced great eras of success, but it does demonstrate how wrong those people are who believe certain clubs were unsuccessful until recent years, or those who think certain clubs have always been giants. The column on first major success helps to show when some clubs first became trophy-winning significant (often after transformational investment too!).
I know clubs focus on their financials but winning a trophy has longevity, gaining the odd Premier League place provides a bit of extra cash now but no long term kudos. Winning a trophy attracts new fans and brings money-spinning opportunities too. Look at how winning the FA Cup has helped Palace this last year or so.
If I was a supporter of any of the major clubs who have not found significant success in recent decades then I would absolutely want my team to go for whichever cup competition seems the most likely to win. That’s what I always wanted from Manchester City before they were able to compete for the League again. Winning the FA Cup in 2011 helped everything that followed happen – it gave confidence and a trophy winning mentality.
While you’re here why not take a look at the wide range of articles available on this site? Such as the 100 day series of features on Maine Road:
If you enjoy all the free material on my website and would like to support my research and keep this website going (but don’t want to subscribe) then why not make a one-time donation (or buy me a coffee). All support for my research is valued and welcome. It allows me to keep some free material available for all. Thanks.
Last night (14 May 2026) Manchester City found FA Youth Cup glory for the second time in three years with a 2-1 derby victory over Manchester United at the Joie Stadium.
Having taken over as the Under-18s Lead Coach in the summer of 2024, German coach Oliver Reiss oversaw back-to-back Youth Cup Finals with 2026 seeing the young Blues win 2-1 in the Manchester derby. In what was Club’s 14th appearance in the Final, the result meant City’s youngsters had won the famous trophy twice in the previous three years.
This was the fifth time City had won the FA Youth Cup in total, following the successes in 2024, 2020, 2008 and 1986.
Goals from Floyd Samba (40 mins) and Reigan Heskey (87 mins) helped secure the trophy at the Joie Stadium, in what was only the second all-Manchester FA Youth Cup Final. The United scorer was Godwill Kukonki (42nd minute).
This victory over Manchester United came just 12 days after the City youngsters were crowned as the Under-18 Premier League North title winners for a second successive season, with an Under-18 Premier League National Final still to come.
Academy Director Thomas Kruecken said: ‘Winning the FA Youth Cup is always a key target for us at the start of each season, so to see the team lift the trophy is a momentous occasion and an achievement everyone in the Academy should be immensely proud of. Our results throughout the competition have shown how much the FA Youth Cup means to Oliver, his staff and the players. They have been superb.
‘They have shown the importance of performing when it counts, in a final, in front of 8,000 people. We are incredibly proud of the players and staff for facing the challenge head on and we believe it will prove to be an important experience in our player’s journey to become a professional footballer one day. It is an unbelievable achievement to be in the final three times in a row. It shows a consistent high level of dedication, passion and a success that has been built over years of tireless hard work.
‘It has been a pleasure to watch the team grow and play football that mirrors our ethos here at Manchester City – we aim to play the same style of football across every age group at this football club.
‘But this moment would also not be possible without the hard work of everyone connected to the Club. So many people have worked closely with the squad throughout their progression up the age groups, providing the best environment possible for our players to develop not just into fantastic football players, but amazing people also. I am so proud to not only lead the Academy, but to work with so many talented people at City.’
First Team Manager Pep Guardiola, who was there watching, added: ‘I want to congratulate Oliver Reiss, his staff, the players and everyone working in our Academy on winning the FA Youth Cup. Success in this competition is another example of how good this Club is at creating a winning mentality and producing top young players. Every season I am so impressed by the talent that we produce here at the CFA – I see it when the young players train with us. I hope everyone in the Academy enjoys this achievement because it is a reward for all the hard work and commitment not just from this season, but years of hard work.’
You can read about the first all-Manchester final here:
Today (14 May 2026) marks the 15th anniversary of Manchester City’s 2011 FA Cup final success over Stoke. There are so many angles to that first major success of the modern era for Manchester City and it is impossible to cover them all here. Elsewhere on this website I talk about the 2011 FA Cup run, especially that semi-final win over Manchester United. If you’ve not heard it have a listen to this:
Today I’ll focus on the final itself with a lengthy article on the final below. This is a subscriber article. It costs £3 a month to subscribe OR take out an annual subscription at £20 (works out about £1.67 a month). All subscribers get full access to everything throughout their subscription.
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Read more of this content when you subscribe today.
On this day (13 May) in 1966 Manchester City defeated Charlton 3-2 as they won the Second Division title. City’s scorers were Dave Connor, Johnny Crossan and Alan Oakes. The trophy would be presented at the final game of the season at home to Southampton.
Were you there that day? If you were please feel free to add your comments.
You can find out more on Manchester City during the 1965-66 season by reading the following 4100 word article. As with most of the other features in this series it includes words from interviews I have performed with those who were there. This is a subscriber article (see below).
Subscribe to get access
Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (cancel anytime) or sign up for a year at the discounted price of £20 per year (works out £1.67 per month). Subscribers access the 1000+ articles posted so far and the others scheduled during the life of your subscription.
If you enjoy all the free material on my website and would like to support my research and keep this website going (but don’t want to subscribe) then why not make a one-time donation (or buy me a coffee). All support for my research is valued and welcome. It allows me to keep some free material available for all. Thanks.
Gary James' Football Archive 