^ ^ Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City legacy is more complicated than you might think

The Manchester City manager is expected to leave in the coming weeks (Picture: Getty)

It’s time to start thinking about Pep Guardiola’s legacy as he prepares to take charge of his final game at Manchester City on Sunday.

That is assuming he does actually leave City at the end of the season.

While reports say his time in charge at the Etihad is coming to an end, there has been no official announcement from the club and Guardiola refused to give a definitive answer when asked about his future after the draw at Bournemouth, telling Sky Sports: ‘I can say I have one more year of my contract.

‘It’s the conversation we’ve had for many, many years, always from my experience when you announce whatever you announce during the competition it’s a bad, bad result.

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‘So like you understand the first question I have to talk is my chairman. Because we both decide when we finish the season we will see and talk, it’s as simple as that and after we will take the decision.’

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How Guardiola’s time at Manchester City will be remembered

Is he the best to ever do it?

Six Premier League titles, five League Cups, three FA Cups and a Champions League trophy in ten years isn’t bad, and there’s no other manager who changed the way football is played across the divisions as much as Guardiola has, given we now see League Two sides playing out from the back and baiting opposition presses.

There’s the famous treble in 2023, those incredible battles with Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool and basically everything Kevin de Bruyne did. Ederson’s insane passing, Rodri running the midfield and four league titles in a row.

Some of the football was incredible to watch and shouldn’t be taken for granted.

The FA Cup win this season was Guardiola’s 20th trophy since joining Manchester City (Picture: Getty)

It wasn’t all plain sailing, though. Who remembers Man City nil, Ronald Koeman’s Everton four back in that poor first season, those awful team selections in big Champions League games or just how awkward poor Joe Hart looked when trying to emulate Manuel Neuer with the ball at his feet?

Romelu Lukaku scored as Everton beat Manchester City 4-0 in January 2017. It is one of only four four-goal defeats in Guardiola’s career (Picture: Getty)

If City lose to Aston Villa this weekend, Guardiola will end his final season with the exact same record as in his first – not exactly a good sign even if they did run Arsenal close this year.

There are lasting criticisms too. You can’t ignore the fact that there are 115 charges still hanging over City heads, relating to alleged breaches of financial rules from 2009-2018.

There’s no suggestion that Guardiola was aware of any alleged wrongdoing, but he took over in 2016 and his trophy-laden era has been built on the foundations set during those years.

What will Guardiola do next?

A break might be nice – the last one Pep took was for a sabbatical in New York after leaving Barcelona in 2013.

Guardiola doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who retires and spends his hours tending to the vegetables in his garden. He might try, but before you know it he’s off to weekend farmer’s markets and trying to break the Guinness World Record for the largest squash ever grown.

So even if his next job is as a national team manager, as reports suggest, you know he’ll be his intense self wherever he ends up.

As for Man City? Enzo Maresca may look like Guardiola but only time will tell as to whether he can deliver like him too.

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^ ^ When is the England World Cup squad announced – and who will be in it?

Thomas Tuchel has some difficult decisions ahead (Picture: Getty)

Thomas Tuchel is set to announce his England squad for the World Cup today, with just under three weeks to go until the tournament gets underway on June 11.

The Three Lions boss has the unenviable task of whittling down his impressive collection of talent into just 26 spots, with the chosen players looking to win the first trophy for the England men’s team since their iconic World Cup triumph in 1966.

Tuchel’s team get their Group L campaign underway against Croatia on June 17, before turning their attention to Ghana on June 23 and then Panama on June 27.

But before then, Tuchel faces an anxious wait to see if his stars can make it through the final weeks of the season unscathed with matters at the top and bottom of the table – as well as in Europe – still to be resolved.

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When is the England squad announced?

England’s final World Cup squad will be confirmed today (Friday, May 22).

The announcement event will take place on the England app and is set to begin at 9.45am BST, with all 26 names set to follow soon after.

Elliot Anderson will likely be a starter for England at the World Cup (Picture: Getty)

Former England internationals Daniel Sturridge and Theo Walcott will be part of the broadcast, which will be hosted by presenter Kyle Walker.

Tuchel is then due to speak with the media following the announcement from around 11am BST.

Up until the first game, national team managers will also be able to take an additional nine players to the World Cup to take part in training.

Players must be released to their national teams by their clubs by Monday, May 25. There is an exception, however, for players who will be taking part in the Europa Conference League (May 27) and Champions League (May 30) finals.

This could prove something of a headache for Tuchel, with English players from Arsenal and Crystal Palace joining up late with the squad having made it through to the Champions League and Conference League finals respectively.

Tuchel will have the opportunity to fine-tune his preparations with two pre-tournament friendlies scheduled against New Zealand (June 6) and Costa Rica (June 10).

England's World Cup fixtures

• England vs Croatia (June 17, 9pm BST, Dallas)
• England vs Ghana (June 23, 9pm BST, Boston)
• Panama vs England (June 27, 10pm BST, New York-New Jersey)

Who could be in the final England squad?

Large swathes of England’s World Cup squad has emerged from media reports on Thursday evening, with Tuchel making a series of bold calls over high-profile players.

These the likes of Jordan Pickford, Nico O’Reilly, Marc Guehi, Declan Rice, Elliot Anderson, Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka and Harry Kane all appear set to make the team and while likely form the spine of England’s XI.

So too could players such as Ezri Konsa, John Stones, Morgan Rogers and Marcus Rashford, who also seem poised for a place on the plane to North America.

Ebrechi Eze will join the squad after winning the title with Arsenal, while Kobbie Mainoo also appears to have persuaded Tuchel that he should head to the World Cup as cover for Rice and Anderson.

How England could line-up at the World Cup (Picture: Metro)

However, there appears no place in the squad for Mainoo’s United teammate Harry Maguire, who shared his ‘shock’ at missing out on England’s squad.

Lewis Hall appears set for disappointment further back at left-back, with Myles Lewis-Skelly and Trent Alexander-Arnold pushing for one of the final places as extra defensive cover.

Elsewhere, Mainoo’s inclusion is set to be bad news for Adam Wharton, who will miss out on in central midfield.

And further forward, Tuchel looks set to raise eyebrows by leaving out Cole Palmer, Phil Foden and Morgan Gibbs-White in the hugely competitive No10 position.

Anthony Gordon and Noni Madueke will complete the options in wide areas, with no place for Jarrod Bowen.

The German also appears set to bring two back-ups for Kane, with Ollie Watkins and Ivan Toney seemingly set for call-ups to complete Tuchel’s squad.

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^ ^ Ruben Amorim stance on replacing Jose Mourinho at Benfica after Man Utd sacking

Ex-Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim has been heavily linked with Benfica (Picture: Getty)

Ruben Amorim has not held talks with Benfica and has no desire to return to management in Portugal, his representatives have confirmed.

The 41-year-old has been biding his time for a potential opening in one of Europe’s top five leagues having been dismissed by Manchester United back in early January.

It proved a miserable end to Amorim’s 14-month spell in charge at Old Trafford, which had promised so much but fell desperately short of expectations, culminating in a series of outbursts directed at the hierarchy.

Amorim’s flat-out refusal to deviate from his favoured 3-4-3 formation became a major bone of contention amongst United’s fanbase and key decision-makers, and a run of just one victory in eight games was the final straw.

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The club’s resurgence since Amorim’s departure has only intensified questions about the Portuguese’s elite-level credentials, with the Red Devils winning 11 from their last 16 matches under interim boss Michael Carrick.

However, despite his ties to Sporting, there has been mounting speculation in Amorim’s homeland that he could be set to take over the reins from Jose Mourinho at Benfica when the latter returns to Real Madrid.

Mourinho has reportedly agreed a two-year contract at the Bernabeu – 13 years after his initial stint came to an end – and a recent report from Correio da Manha claimed Benfica president Rui Costa has taken over negotiations to convince his fellow countryman to succeed the Special One in Lisbon.

Amorim has been out of a job since his sacking at Old Trafford in the new year (Picture: Getty)

There have been rumours Amorim could replace Mourinho at Benfica (Picture: Getty)

But in response to these rumours, the AS1 agency, who represent Amorim, stated: ‘Ruben Amorim made the decision a long time ago to pursue his career abroad.

‘Therefore, he has not met with any Portuguese clubs to discuss working conditions, structure, the squad, salary, or anything else.

‘Anything said beyond this is mere speculation and does not correspond to reality.’

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Amorim reportedly received a £12million payout when he was sacked by United at the turn of the year and has kept a relatively low profile in the intervening months.

According to The Sun, Fulham head coach Marco Silva has emerged as the clear frontrunner to become Benfica boss, even striking an agreement in principle to replace Mourinho at the helm.

Much like Amorim, Silva managed Sporting before being attracted to the bright lights of English football in 2017, via a brief spell in charge of Olympiakos.

Silva is the favourite to take over the reins at Benfica (Picture: Getty)

Silva was appointed by Fulham in July 2021 and went on to steer the club back into the Premier League – after a one-year absence – where they have remained ever since.

Facing the media earlier this week, Benfica president Rui Costa was unable to provide any assurances over Mourinho’s future beyond the end of the season.

‘Jose Mourinho is Benfica’s coach until proven otherwise,’ the former AC Milan and Portugal midfielder told reporters.

‘It’s up to Mourinho to decide.

‘As for everything else, I’ll speak with the Benfica fans this week to take stock of the season.’

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