Pep Guardiola was appointed as Manchester City manager in February 2016 before officially taking charge and replacing Manuel Pellegrini for the start of the 2016/17 season.
Guardiola moved to the Premier League after a successful three-year spell at Bayern Munich and was always City's dream appointment from the day Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court, completed a takeover of the club in 2008.
Guardiola had earlier crafted one of the finest teams in football history at Barcelona, and that benchmark was something City dreamt of emulating – so much so that they had started laying the groundwork for his arrival almost four years earlier.
Former Barcelona CEO Ferran Soriano joined the club on September 1, 2012, before the key appointment of Txiki Begiristain as director of football the following month.
Begiristain and Guardiola's partnership dated back to their playing days and they had enjoyed historic success together at the Camp Nou. Their eventual reunion at the Etihad Stadium was the spark for a golden era for the blue half of Manchester. Below is a season-by-season recap of that journey.
2016/17
Guardiola's early weeks at City were dominated by his ruthless axing of club legend and England goalkeeper Joe Hart. He wanted a keeper who could play out with the ball at his feet, so brought in Claudio Bravo from former club Barcelona to replace the disgruntled Hart, whose career never truly recovered.
Bravo was nothing short of a disaster. His comically bad displays got worse and worse as City's promising start to the season began to fall apart. The nadir was a 4-0 hammering against Everton at Goodison Park in January, with Guardiola subsequently branded “Fraudiola” by the tabloid press and rival fans. City recovered to finish third, but it was an inauspicious debut campaign as Guardiola finished a season without a trophy for the first time in his career. That was despite City spending more than £170 million on new players, including John Stones, Leroy Sane and Ilkay Gundogan.
Premier League: 3rd
Champions League: Round of 16
FA Cup: Semi-finals
League Cup: Fourth round
2017/18
Another £250m was invested in the summer with key men like Bernardo Silva, Ederson and Kyle Walker brought to the club. Guardiola now had the core of players who would go on to win everything with him.
His first trophy in English football arrived in March following a 3-0 win over Arsenal in the League Cup final.
The team set many Premier League records, including: most points (100), most away points (50), most points ahead of second (19), most wins (32), most away wins (16), most goals (106), best goal difference (+79) and most consecutive victories (18). The team also equalled the record for the earliest Premier League title win (five games to spare), beat every other team in the league throughout the season, and recorded the most consecutive away wins (11). Their 100-point tally earned them the nickname “Centurions”. Guardiola signed a new contract until 2021.
Premier League: Winners
Champions League: Quarter-finals
FA Cup: Fifth round
League Cup: Winners
2018/19
After two summers of heavy investment, the signing of Riyad Mahrez for £60m was City's only major deal in Guardiola's third season. The squad was by this point peaking and fully attuned to his methods. The result was another season of dominance, with City becoming the first side to sweep the domestic treble of league, FA Cup and League Cup.
It was far from easy, though, with 2018/19 witnessing the birth of City's great rivalry with Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool. City had to win their final 14 consecutive league games to hold off the Reds and win the title by a solitary point. Captain Vincent Kompany rifled in a crucial winner against Leicester before leaving at the end of the season.
City's Uefa Champions League performances continued to disappoint, though, and they were knocked out in the last eight by Tottenham.
Premier League: Winners
Champions League: Quarter-finals
FA Cup: Winners
League Cup: Winners
2019/20
Joao Cancelo and £63m club record midfielder Rodri arrived ahead of a season that would be interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, with 2019/20 halted and restarted in empty stadiums. Liverpool were worthy winners as they deposed City at the top of the table, finishing 18 points clear. An 8-0 drubbing of Watford remains Guardiola's biggest league win in England.
City won the League Cup for the third year in a row but lost to Arsenal in the semi-finals of the FA Cup. They once again suffered quarter-final disappointment in the Champions League, beaten by Lyon in a one-off last-eight clash in Porto after the competition had been condensed because of the pandemic.
Premier League: 2nd
Champions League: Quarter-finals
FA Cup: Semi-finals
League Cup: Winners
2020/21
Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake arrived for a combined £100m in the summer to bolster City's defence ahead of a season where they regained their status as the Premier League's top dogs. Guardiola also signed a new two-year contract until summer 2023.
With Covid measures still rife, City finished 12 points clear of closest challengers Manchester United. They also beat Tottenham for their customary League Cup win but were denied at the final hurdle in their quest to claim a first Champions League title.
Guardiola was accused of overthinking his selection and tactics, and the 1-0 defeat to Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea stands out as one of the toughest losses of his City tenure. In particular, his decision not to play defensive midfielder Fernandinho was questioned.
Premier League: Winners
Champions League: Runners-up
FA Cup: Semi-finals
League Cup: Winners
2021/22
City broke their transfer record to bring in Jack Grealish for £100m from Aston Villa ahead of a season in which they maintained their grip on the Premier League but suffered various disappointments in the cups. There was a shock League Cup fourth round exit to West Ham – a result that brought an end to a five-year unbeaten run in the competition.
Real Madrid won a thrilling Champions League semi-final 6-5 on aggregate, while there was also a 3-2 semi-final loss to Liverpool in the FA Cup. City once again edged out Klopp's side by a single point in the Premier League, thanks to a topsy-turvy final day win over Aston Villa.
Premier League: Winners
Champions League: Semi-finals
FA Cup: Semi-finals
League Cup: Fourth round
2022/23
The arrival of striker Erling Haaland for £52m was the headline transfer ahead of a season where City finally landed the holy grail of a maiden Champions League title. Not only that, but they matched the 1999 achievement of neighbours United by also winning the league and FA Cup as part of a historic treble.
Arsenal emerged as their latest rivals but finished five points adrift in the league. United were dispatched 2-1 in the first Manchester derby FA Cup final, while Bayern Munich and Real Madrid were knocked out before a 1-0 win over Inter Milan made City European champions for the first time. Rodri scored the only goal as Guardiola won the competition for the first time since 2011 with Barcelona. He then signed a new two-year contract until summer 2025.
Premier League: Winners
Champions League: Winners
FA Cup: Winners
League Cup: Quarter-finals
2023/24
Guardiola burnished his City legend by adding two more titles to their roll of honour. Sevilla were beaten on penalties in the Uefa Super Cup and Fluminense swept aside 4-0 in the Club World Cup final – both were firsts for the club. At this point, Guardiola first mentioned he could be near the end of his time with City, stating "there's nothing left to win".
At home, City won a fourth straight Premier League, becoming the first club to claim four English top-flight titles in a row.
Defeat to neighbours United ended hopes of a domestic double and a narrow loss to Real Madrid saw their Champions League challenge falter at the quarter-final stage.
Premier League: Winners
Champions League: Quarter-finals
FA Cup: Runners-up
League Cup: Third round
Uefa Super Cup: Winners
Fifa Club World Cup: Winners
2024/25
A typically strong start to the season began to crumble in November as City stumbled through a campaign that ended without silverware – the first time since Guardiola's debut season in England. A run of one win in 13 also saw Guardiola lose four consecutive matches for the first time.
Liverpool returned to form to win the league under Arne Slot, while City's Champions League campaign never really got going before they were knocked out by, yep, Real Madrid.
A fourth-round defeat to Spurs ended their League Cup hopes early, while a shock FA Cup final loss to Crystal Palace meant there was no saving grace.
Another surprise setback came in the summer when they were knocked out of the expanded Club World Cup by Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal.
Despite much speculation he would leave, Guardiola once again signed a new two-year contract until 2027.
Premier League: Third
Champions League: Knockout phase play-offs
FA Cup: Runners-up
League Cup: Fourth Round
Fifa Club World Cup: Round of 16
2025/26
After the struggles of 2024/25 not much was expected at the start of what is expected to be Guardiola's final season. However, the 55-year-old started to once again work his magic and mould a winning team after a big-money rebuild across the previous two windows.
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Manchester City players with the FA Cup trophy after defeating Chelsea in the final at the Wembley Stadium. Getty Images -
Manchester City players celebrate winning the FA Cup at the Wembley Stadium. AFP -
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola celebrates winning the FA Cup. PA -
Manchester City's Antoine Semenyo celebrates after scoring during the FA Cup final against Chelsea at the Wembley Stadium. EPA -
Antoine Semenyo scored the winner for Manchester City against Chelsea in the FA Cup final. EPA -
Antoine Semenyo celebrates with Manchester City teammates after scoring in the FA Cup final. Getty Images -
Chelsea's Cole Palmer vies for the ball with Manchester City's Bernardo Silva. AFP -
Manchester City's Jeremy Doku battles with Chelsea's Cole Palmer. AFP
A domestic cup double saw them beat Arsenal in the final of the League Cup in March and then Chelsea in May's FA Cup final. City met Real Madrid in the knockouts of the Champions League for the fifth year in a row and once again were second best.
Ultimately, the Gunners were able to get over the line in the Premier League as talk of Guardiola's exit swirled. He refused to deny the speculation after City's 1-0 loss at Bournemouth confirmed they could no longer catch Mikel Arteta's side.
He said: "I have to talk to my chairman because we both decided when we finish the season we will sit and we will talk. It is as simple as that and after we will take the decision."
During the 2025/26 season, Guardiola passed both 1,000 games in his career as a manager and 400 wins with City. Since taking the reins a decade ago, Guardiola has won 17 major honours, 20 including the lesser-regarded Community Shield, to cement his status as one of the game's greatest ever coaches.
Premier League: 2nd
Champions League: Round of 16
FA Cup: Winners
League Cup: Winners
