Regular football followers may feel a little estranged from the game this season. Fans, admirers and even rivals are bound to miss one familiar figure from the dugouts of the past two decades -- Pep Guardiola.

Enzo Maresca urged Manchester City to learn from their chastening Community Shield defeat against Arsenal after the Italian made a dismal start to the daunting task of replacing Pep Guardiola.

The Premier League has never been afraid of change. Players come and go, fortunes rise and fall, owners rewrite club identities almost overnight. Yet for nearly four decades there was always a familiar figure standing in one of English football's biggest technical areas.

Enzo Maresca said Friday it is a "privilege" to follow Pep Guardiola as manager of Manchester City.

Former Manchester City and Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola has turned down the opportunity to coach the Italy national team, a source familiar with the discussions told Reuters on Friday, confirming media reports.

Asked whether the budget for the coach's salary could be increased in the case of Guardiola, he said: "Yes, and that is the exception for obvious reasons".

Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has revealed Pep Guardiola was on the verge of quitting "100 times" before finally leaving at the end of this season.

Pep Guardiola bid an emotional farewell to Manchester City as a 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa on Sunday brought down the curtain on a glittering decade under the Catalan.

Departing Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said he hoped his successor can be true to themselves, warning that any attempt to find a carbon copy of him would likely backfire.

"When you take a lot of decisions, a lot, lot of decisions, you make mistakes," Guardiola, who will leave City after Sunday's final Premier League match at home to Aston Villa, told Sky Sports in an interview.

Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany said former mentor Pep Guardiola, who announced on Friday he is leaving Manchester City, gave him the belief to become a manager.

When Pep Guardiola arrived at Manchester City in 2016, the Spaniard was already a decorated coach, having won top honours at Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

Pep Guardiola said Friday he feared he would run out of the energy required to lead Manchester City after announcing his glittering 10-year tenure as manager will come to an end.

Pep Guardiola announced on Friday that he will leave Manchester City at the end of the season after a trophy-laden decade that transformed English football.

Arsenal ended their 22-year wait to be crowned Premier League champions on Tuesday after Manchester City were held 1-1 by Bournemouth.

Pep Guardiola is set to bring his trophy-laden decade in charge of Manchester City to an end this weekend, according to multiple reports on Monday.

Pep Guardiola said his Manchester City players would not even be allowed "one beer" despite beating Chelsea 1-0 at Wembley on Saturday to clinch the club's eighth FA Cup.

All eyes will be on the Wembley Stadium today as Manchester City take on Chelsea in the FA Cup final.

Pep Guardiola said all Manchester City can do is stay alive and hope for an Arsenal slip-up in the Premier League title race after a 3-0 win against Crystal Palace on Wednesday.

Manchester City's second string eased past Crystal Palace 3-0 on Wednesday to climb just two points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal with two games remaining of a captivating title race.