* Man City are the first team in English football history to win more than three consecutive titles
* While Guardiola is just the fourth manager to win six English top-flight crowns
* Pochettino leaves Chelsea by mutual consent after one season in charge
By Reuters, Be-In-Sports & Football365
Pep Guardiola was named Premier League Manager of the Year on Tuesday after guiding Manchester City to an unprecedented fourth successive title — becoming the joint second-most successful coach in the history of English football with six league titles.
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The Spanish coach has previously won the award four times since he joined the club in 2016 and he has matched former Aston Villa manager George Ramsay and Liverpool legend Bob Paisley.
Manchester United legend, Alex Ferguson leads the way with 13 titles and with 11, Ferguson is also the only person to win the Premier League Manager of the Season award more often than Guardiola — with his fifth dragging him further clear of Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger (three each).
Guardiola also claimed the prize after overseeing title-winning campaigns in 2017-18, 2018-19, 2020-21 and 2022-23.
“This award reflects the hard work and excellence of the people at the Club in all departments,” Guardiola said. “I am so proud to be manager of this group of players and work alongside the brilliant coaches and support staff every day.
“Winning four titles in a row is one of the proudest achievements of my career. This is the toughest league in the world and our competitors have played some incredible football.”
Guardiola saw off competition from Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta, Aston Villa’s Unai Emery, Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola and Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp.
City edged out Arsenal by two points on the final day of the season to win their eighth Premier League title, their sixth under Guardiola and their fourth in a row.
They are the first team in English football history to win more than three consecutive titles, while Guardiola is just the fourth manager to win six English top-flight crowns.
Having seen off competition from four other nominees, Guardiola said they deserved to share the honour with him: “I want to share it, especially with Mikel [Arteta] for the incredible job he has done until the last game, bringing us to our limits.
Mikel Arteta
“Of course, for Jurgen [Klopp], for the unforgettable battles for many, many years. And Unai Emery, making something unbelievable again to bring Aston Villa to the Champions League.
“And Andoni Iraola, with Bournemouth, being his first season in the Premier League, doing what he has done and coming back from a tough start to the season.
“It is an honour to be alongside all of them and to win this trophy. We will defend this award as best as possible in the future.”
Meanwhile, reports indicate that there is ‘concrete chance’ that Guardiola is leaving Man City as Barcelona is doing everything to lure him.
There has been lots of speculation surrounding the future of Guardiola and during the title celebrations, the Spanish manager admitted that he is “closer to leaving than staying”.
His contract has expired at the end of 2024/25 and reports in Spain suggest that Guardiola will say ‘goodbye to Man City’ in 2025 as Barcelona ‘will do everything’ to bring the 53-year-old back to Camp Nou.
Furthermore, Guardiola’s mind has been made up ‘for a long time’ with a departure next year already decided.
Meanwhile, Mauricio Pochettino has left his job as Chelsea manager by mutual consent, the Premier League club announced on Tuesday — ending the Argentine’s reign at the club after one season despite a late revival in their fortunes.
Pochettino joined Chelsea ahead of the 2023-24 campaign when he replaced interim manager Frank Lampard as the club’s new owners, Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, looked to freshen things up after a 12th-placedfinish the previous season.
He signed a two-year contract, with the club having the option of a further year, but the 52-year-old has now left the west London side after a turbulent campaign despite a late rally to finish sixth and secure European football for next season.
Mauricio Pochettino
“On behalf of everyone at Chelsea, we would like to express our gratitude to Mauricio for his service this season,” sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley said in a statement.
“He will be welcome back to Stamford Bridge any time and we wish him all the very best in his future coaching career.”
Pochettino, the former Paris St. Germain and Tottenham Hotspur manager, came in after Chelsea had splashed out more than any club in Europe in the close season transfer window last year, spending £400 million on signings.
Boehly and Clearlake had spent over one billion dollars on players since they took over the club in 2022, with most of the outlay going into young players signing long-term contracts as they looked to build a team for the future.
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Pochettino was Chelsea’s third permanent manager under the new ownership after Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter and the players took time to gel as the club struggled to establish a run in the early months, sitting 12th at one stage.
But Pochettino turned things around as players returned from injury and they lost one of their last 15 games, winning the last five in a row to soar to sixth spot and qualify for Europe.
Chelsea have qualified for the Conference League but will play in the Europa League if Premier League champions Manchester City win the FA Cup final against Manchester United on Saturday.
Speculation had been rife Pochettino would be gone after one year in charge but he remained tight-lipped about his future when asked after their final game of the season on Sunday.
The Argentine remained mum on ‘rumours’ of his exit but said on Sunday that he had had dinner with Boehly.
“Thank you to the Chelsea ownership group and sporting directors for the opportunity to be part of this football club’s history,” Pochettino said on Tuesday.
“The club is now well positioned to keep moving forward in the Premier League and Europe in the years to come.”—Editing by Maravi Express
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