Ian Dennis
BBC Radio 5 Live senior football reporter

From Pep Guardiola’s point of view it’s been believed for a long time that he was leaving at the end of the season but Manchester City have confirmed it. It will bring to an end to what has been a glorious spell for the club and Guardiola.

He’s been in charge for a decade, he’s brought twenty trophies to Manchester City and he will be a loss to them, and a massive loss to the Premier League. He leaves a lasting legacy in the Premier League with his style of play that has filtered all the way down.

Manchester City

“When I arrived, my first interview was with Noel Gallagher. I walked out thinking, ‘Okay… Noel is here? This will be fun,’” Guardiola said.

“And what a time we have had together. Don’t ask me the reasons I’m leaving. There is no reason, but deep inside, I know it’s my time. Nothing is eternal, if it was, I would be here. Eternal will be the feeling, the people, the memories, the love I have for my Manchester City.

“This is a city built from work. From graft. You see it in the colour of the bricks. From people who clocked in early, stayed late. The factories. The Pankhursts. The unions. The music. Simply the Industrial Revolution and how this changed the world. And I think I grew to understand that, and my teams did too.

“We worked. We suffered. We fought. And we did things our own way. Our way.

“Hard work comes in many forms. Trips to Bournemouth, when we lost the Premier League, and you were there. Trips to Istanbul, when you were there, too.

“Remember, the Manchester Arena attack, when this city showed the world what strength actually looks like? Not anger. Not fear. Just love. Community. Togetherness. A city united.

“Remember, losing my mum during COVID and feeling this club carry me through it. The fans, the staff, the people of Manchester, you gave me strength when I needed it most. Cris, my kids, my whole family, you were there as always. Khaldoon, you were there too.

“Players don’t forget - every single instant, moment, me, my staff, this club, everything. What we have done, we have done it for all of you. And you have been just exceptional. You don’t know it yet, but you are leaving a legacy.

“So as my time comes to an end, be happy. Oasis are back again.

“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for trusting me.

“Thank you for pushing me.

“Thank you for loving me.

“Tony Walsh said in his unforgettable poem this is the place. I’m sorry, Tony: this is my place.

“Noel…I was right.

“It has been so [expletive] fun.

“Love you all.”

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester City

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester City's chief executive officer Ferran Soriano said that he was happy Pep Guardiola had agreed to remain working within City Football Group: "As we celebrate the past, we are also very happy to know that Pep will stay with the group and we will be able use his knowledge and experience in so many of our other clubs to help managers and players.

“We will forever be grateful to Pep and cherish so many unforgettable memories. He is a City legend… forever.

"Nobody would have believed, ten years ago, that we could win 20 trophies in this decade, playing entertaining football of such high quality. It was unthinkable… and yet it was done."

Soriano added: "We have been privileged to work alongside Pep Guardiola for 10 years. We have witnessed his greatness and dedication, but also enjoyed his companionship, his friendship and humanity. What a privilege it has been for so many of us at Manchester City!

“Pep’s legacy is extraordinary and its true impact will be better assessed by Manchester City historians of the future. He contributed decisively to our journey to global excellence and his high standards will be a reference for our players and managers of the future."

What do you make of the news of Pep Guardiola leaving Manchester City?

What have been your favourite moments from his time at the club? And where do City go next?

Send us your thoughts by clicking on 'Get Involved' on this page.

Manchester City

Manchester City have experienced success like never before during Pep Guardiola's time at the helm.

In total, Guardiola has led the club to 17 trophies, including six Premier Leagues and a first Champions League.

Here is a full breakdown of all the Catalan manager has won during his time at the Etihad:

• Six Premier Leagues
• Five League Cups
• Three FA Cups
• Three Community Shields
• One Champions League
• One Uefa Super Cup
• One Fifa Club World Cup

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak said: "Today the right answer is for Pep to finish his journey as the manager of Manchester City.

"There have been points along the way when he could have stopped, and it would have been enough. Somehow, Pep always found new energy and pushed on, finding different and innovative ways to continue winning and delivering success.

“As a result, the club has a decade of memories and success to be forever grateful for, and much more than that, an evolution that cannot be undone.

“The unique approach that he brings to his coaching has allowed him to constantly challenge the accepted truths of our game. It is the reason that in the last ten years he has not only made Manchester City better - he has also made football better.”

Manchester City

In announcing his departure as manager, Pep Guardiola said on the Manchester City website:

"Don’t ask me the reasons I’m leaving. There is no reason, but deep inside, I know it’s my time. Nothing is eternal, if it was, I would be here. Eternal will be the feeling, the people, the memories, the love I have for my Manchester City."

Manchester City

Manchester City confirmed in their statement announcing Pep Guardiola's departure, external as manager that he would maintain a role with the ownership group as a global ambassador:

"Despite his departure as Manager of Manchester City, Pep will continue his relationship with the City Football Group, by taking up a role as a Global Ambassador.

"The role will see him giving technical advice to the clubs in the group, working on specific projects and collaborations."

Image source, Getty Images

Pep Guardiola will leave Manchester City after overseeing the most successful period in the club's history.

He joined the Premier League club in February 2016 and led them to 15 major trophies, including six Premier League titles in 10 top-flight seasons.

The 55-year-old's final match in charge will be against Aston Villa on Sunday, 24 May.

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester City have just confirmed that Pep Guardiola will step down as manager this summer.

A huge development - more to follow...

That’s all from Arne Slot’s news conference.

Here's a recap of everything the Liverpool head coach had to say:

• 'We want the club to be successful' - Slot on Salah comments
• Slot coy over Salah involvement on final day
• 'We want to finish with a win'
• Slot provides update on Isak, Alisson

We’ll be pausing our live coverage for a while before returning at 13:00 BST, when we’ll bring you the main lines from the rest of today’s news conferences - including Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola, with his future likely to be a major talking point.

In the meantime, you can head over to our live coverage of England's World Cup squad announcement.

Join us again a little later this afternoon...

Keifer MacDonald
BBC Sport

Image source, Getty Images

Arne Slot took the diplomatic approach during his press conference earlier this morning.

After Mohamed Salah’s explosive social media post following the 4-2 defeat against Aston Villa last week, Slot was eager not to engage in another back-and-forth with the departing forward, insisting that both he and the Egyptian want the club to be successful again in the future.

But the Dutchman refused to confirm or deny whether Salah will make a final appearance for the club during Sunday’s season finale against Brentford as the two-time Premier League winner prepares to bid farewell to the Kop after a glittering nine-year career on Merseyside.

It seems as though Slot has managed to navigate the latest tricky chapter of his Liverpool career, though how many more chapters he has left to write will be heavily impacted by whether his side are able to seal Champions League qualification on Sunday.

Liverpool

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot on the importance of Liverpool's Hungarian players: "Milos Kerkez has played a lot of games and has improved during the season. It is never easy for a new player to come into a team not performing at the level they were last season. For a young player like him, making the step from Bournemouth to Liverpool, playing Champions League and Premier League football, we are really happy with his development. He needs to make the next step next season."

"And I think a great example of talking about becoming better after one, two, three seasons of playing Premier League football is Dominik Szoboszlai. He is an example for all of us - but definitely for Milos. His first season was good, his second season was very good, and this season - although the team played far from excellent - I think it is fair to say he had an excellent season."

Asked if he views Szoboszlai as a potential captain: "Virgil is with us next season, so let us not look ahead too far. He is already a captain for the national team, so that already tells you that he has that in him. But as I said, Virgil is already here next season. The future of a manager is only normally three days, so looking further than that is a bit too much."

Liverpool

Image source, Getty Images

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot on the fitness of Alisson Becker and Alexander Isak: "Ali will train with us today. Alex trains with us for the first time with us today, parts of what we are going to do.

"To a certain extend, both positive."

Liverpool

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot on if he is looking forward to the season ending: "I think usually at the end of the season you are looking forward to it ending because it has usually been a long season if you work in England! There a lot of games.

"I think maybe last season I wouldn't have minded if it had kept on going because it was quite nice after we won the league that we had a few games to play, but still then you feel like enough is enough it is time to go on holiday and prepare for the next season.

"As I say, I'm looking forward to Sunday because it is a vital game for us. But I am also looking forward to next season to continue evolving this team."

Liverpool

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot on asked if has the support of his players: "Social media came when I was a little bit older, so as people know I am not involved in social media.

"I don't know the understanding of what it means if you 'like' a post. What I do know - and that is my world - is to see how they train and I haven't seen anything different to the rest of the season."

Liverpool

Image source, Getty Images

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot on whether Mohamed Salah's comments undermine his style: "I think Mo was really happy with the style we played last season because that led to us winning the league.

"As I said, football has changed, football has evolved. But we both want what is best for Liverpool and that is for us to compete for trophies."