Pep Guardiola: Manchester City manager says part of him will leave with Txiki Begiristain

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says a part of him will be leaving the club when director of football Txiki Begiristain departs at the end of the season.

Begiristain, 60, joined City 12 years ago and was instrumental in bringing Pep Guardiola to the club in 2016. He will be replaced by Sporting’s Hugo Viana.

A former team-mate of Guardiola at Barcelona, Begiristain was also influential in Guardiola’s appointment as the club’s manager in 2008, when he was director of football at the Nou Camp.

“Part of me is leaving. A friend of mine, an architect who created one of the best teams at Barcelona and here. Personally he will be missed a lot,” Guardiola said.

“He made me balanced in this job. I’m so energetic and when we lose I want to destroy everything and he always said ‘take a moment’.

“We have to move on, and the club will move on.”

Speaking before Manchester City’s trip to Wolves on Sunday (14:00 BST), Guardiola was also asked about his own future.

The Spaniard’s contract is set to expire at the end of this season following seven years at the club . He said he was “closer to leaving than staying” following City’s historic fourth successive Premier League title success in May.

Asked if he had been contacted over the England job before Thomas Tuchel’s appointment, Guardiola said: “It doesn’t matter.

“The club have options when Pep will leave. Sooner or later it will happen and they have to prepare. It will not be a surprise.

“I want to be really convinced it is the best for the club. I will not delay any action thinking it will be a problem for the club.”

Begiristain’s exit was confirmed last week, one day after a verdict was given in City’s legal case against the Premier League over the league’s rules on commercial deals involving clubs’ owners, with both sides claiming victory.

That case is not directly related to the Premier League disciplinary commission which is underway into 115 charges against City for allegedly breaching its financial regulations, some of which date back to 2009.