Pep Guardiola will leave Bayern Munich at the end of the season and will be replaced by Carlo Ancelotti. The news follows months of speculation about Guardiola's future and his reluctance to sign a new contract with the Bundesliga champions despite two-and-a-half successful years in Bavaria.
The Bayern chief executive, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, said: “We are grateful to Pep Guardiola for everything he has given our club since 2013. I am convinced Pep and our team will now work even more intensively towards achieving our major sporting goals – especially as it is now confirmed Pep is to leave Bayern.”
Guardiola has won back-to-back league titles with Bayern and also lifted the German Cup in 2014. However, he has failed to add to the two Champions League trophies he won while in charge of Barcelona, having reached the semi-finals for the past two seasons.
There have also been disagreements with the Bayern medical staff, which led to a parting of the ways with the highly regarded team doctor Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt last season and three other members of staff.
The German magazine Kicker reported this week that Guardiola has been unimpressed with the medical team this season as well, and especially in regards to recent injuries to Franck Ribéry and Philipp Lahm.
Terminate
Manchester City are thought to be in pole position to sign Guardiola for the 2015-16 season but are likely to face competition Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain, as well as Manchester United if the latter decide to terminate Louis van Gaal's contract a year before its end.
Ancelotti has agreed to replace Guardiola at the end of the season. “Carlo Ancelotti has enjoyed success everywhere as a coach and has won the Champions League three times,” Rummenigge said. “Carlo is a calm, balanced expert, who knows how to deal with stars and favours a multifaceted style of play. We are looking forward to working with him.”
Ancelotti said: “I am very honoured that I will be coach of the great club FC Bayern from next season.”
Manuel Pellegrini, the Manchester City manager, has stoked suggestions that Guardiola could be heading to his club. In comments made before the news of the Bayern manager's departure, he said: "I am sure Pep Guardiola will work here some day. I even hope he will have the opportunity to work at Manchester City too, because I love this club and I care about its future, and I am sure he would do a good job.
“When is the future, I don’t know, but if the future turns out to be next year the most important thing for me to do is try to win the title again this season. To win two titles in three years would be quite an achievement, I think, and we were runners-up last season too. That was not our best season, I admit, but at least it was not a disaster.” Guardian Service
