Pep Guardiola to leave Barcelona at the end of the season

Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola will leave the Spanish giants at the end of the season.

The 41 year-old has suffered disappointing defeats to Chelsea and Real Madrid in the last week.

There had been doubts over the future of the former-Barca captain for a while and its now been confirm he will leave the club.

Expired

Guardiola’s contract with Barcelona expires in the summer. The former-Spanish international has only ever signed 12 month contracts with the club to keep his options open. He knew that at some point he would want a new challenge or a break from the game. It seems that point has now come.

Successful

Pep Guardiola has been an unbelievable success at Barcelona since taking over just under four years ago. He has won 13 trophies as manager of his boyhood club, including three La Liga titles and two Champions League trophies.

Change

When Pep Guardiola arrived as boss he had some great players at his disposal. However the former-Barca midfielder had to sort out a crisis. The club had finished third in La Liga the season before as the big egos took over the clubs.

Guardiola made some brave changes as he decided to get rid of the likes of Deco, Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto’o. Eto’o managed to earn a reprieve and stayed with the Catalan giants. However mercurial stars Deco and Ronaldinho left the club.

The decision to let the pair leave was an inspired one. It was like a breath of fresh air to the changing room. The decision also created more room for a certain Lionel Messi to get more game time. The Argentinian took his first team chance with both hands and the rest is now history.

Guardiola has had a big hand in developing Lionel Messi into the player he is today. Messi wouldn’t be the player he is now if it wasn’t for Guardiola’s faith in his ability and handling of the then youngster.

Philosophy

The Barcelona boss has taken Barcelona’s philosophy of possession football to the next level. In four years under Guardiola Barcelona have became one of the greatest club teams in the history of the game.

The whole club has the same philosophy of how the game should be played and Guardiola has put that into effect in devastating fashion in recent seasons. The Barcelona football philosophy is in Guardiola’s DNA, having played for and managed the Catalan giants.

Downfall

Ironically, Barcelona’s strength has became part of their weakness. The possession football has became so in-grained in the players that they don’t have another way of playing. They either win that way or they fail.

Barcelona have shown that sticking to their style of play doesn’t always bring results. The likes of Italian side Inter and more recently Chelsea have exposed the fact that Barcelona have no plan B. I don’t know whether to respect the club for sticking to its football philosophy or criticise them for having no alternative.

Pressure

I think the pressure is starting to show on Pep Guardiola. People may say it’s not hard to manage one of the greatest teams of all time, but it’s hard to keep the team at the level its been at in recent years. I’m sure it’s hard to keep those players hungry for success.

They have won everything there is to win in the game. It must also be hard to motivate players that have nothing left to win. The strain has finally got to the Spaniard and he looks ready for a break from football.

Next?

Guardiola has yet to make clear his plans for the future. It seems that the most logical outcome for the Spaniard is for him to take a break from the game. He is still very young in the world of coaching and has time on his side.

However, Guardiola is already being linked with a move to the Premier League. Chelsea is the club he has been most heavily linked with in the past. With Roberto Di Matteo guiding the club to the Champions League final though the job may not be available.

People have also talked about Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham as potential destinations. I don’t think any of those clubs are a likely destination for Guardiola. I believe a more likely outcome is a break from the game.

Pep Guardiola is already considered a modern day managerial great for his work with Barca. Whatever he does from now on I don’t think anybody can question that.

His time at Barca maybe considered the zenith of his career but who knows he may go to bring a similar level of success to another club in another league. Then there will be no question about him being one of the greatest bosses the modern game has ever produced.

What next for Pep Guardiola?