Pep Guardiola To Quit Barcelona Today

Barcelona have scheduled a press conference for later today where manager Pep Guardiola is expected to announce that he is stepping down from his role at the end of the season. Guardiola, 41, held several hours of talks with Barca club president Sandro Rossell at his home on Thursday to discuss his future and despite pleas from the president to stay on (Rossell at one point suggested Guardiola could have an "unlimited" transfer war chest in the summer), Guardiola believes his time at the Catalan giants should come to an end and he intends to take a break from football before embarking on a new challenge elsewhere. Here's how the BBC put it;

During the talks, which took place at Rossell's private home in the city, Guardiola is understood to have expressed his belief that he could "not go on." What had begun as discussions over an extension to his one-year rolling contract soon turned into a push to keep Guardiola at the club. Rossell is understood to have offered Guardiola unlimited spending power this summer but the Catalan will not base his decision on money.

Guardiola leaves Barcelona as one of their most successful figures in history. As manager he won two Champions League titles, three straight La Liga titles, one Copa del Rey, two UEFA Super Cup titles and two FIFA Club World Titles since he took over in the 2008-2009 season after being promoted from the Barca B-team. As a player he was just as legendary, a world-class midfielder in the 90s where he played over 250 times in the 10 seasons between 1999-2001. However this season Guardiola had hinted frequently that he was ready to move on for a new challenge. His short term contract didn't help and there had been rumours almost daily that he was ready to move on at the end of this season. A season where Barcelona failed to beat a 10-man Chelsea side on their home soil in the Champions League semi-final and the La Liga title all but sewn up at rivals Real Madrid in the derby defeat last weekend. Second place just isn't good enough for Barcelona and although they play the most attractive football in the world (and have done for years) and have many of the most lauded players, they will want to get back to winning ways next season and will be looking for a manager to pick up where Guardiola left off. For Guardiola, with no England manager, with possible vacancies at Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur (if Redknapp goes to England), Arsenal (if Wenger is offered Barca and finds it too much to turn it down) and Manchester City (if they finish 2nd and believe Mancinci has failed), he won't be short of options in the Premier League. But from the sounds of things Guardiola wants to take a break for a little while. Can't say he hasn't earnt it.