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Man City director of football and Pep Guardiola’s ‘close friend’ Txiki Begiristain is ‘expected to leave champions at the end of the season’ with a successor already lined up

Manchester City’s long-serving director of football Txiki Begiristain is reportedly expected to leave the club at the end of the season.

Begiristain has been with the club since 2012 and overseen their ascension to becoming one of the world’s most successful football clubs. 

He is a close friend of Pep Guardiola, having been the sporting director who appointed him at Barcelona after the sacking of Frank Rijkaard. They first met as team-mates at Barca. 

‘Txiki is the key to all of this,” Guardiola said years later on his appointment at City in 2016. ‘When nobody else would take a risk on me, when maybe 3 per cent of the people at Barca believed in me, he was the one who insisted on my appointment to the first team. None of this would have been possible without him.’

City have already reached an agreement with a replacement, who is expected to start work early next year as per The Athletic.

Man City’s director of football Txiki Begiristain is reportedly set to leave after this season

He has a close relationship with Pep Guardiola, who he first met playing at Barcelona

He has a close relationship with Pep Guardiola, who he first met playing at Barcelona 

Begiristain’s decision to leave therefore adds a layer of complexity to Guardiola’s own decision about his contract, which expires at the end of this season. 

Mail Sport exclusively reported in May that Guardiola is expected to leave the 2023 Treble winners.

City will give Guardiola space to make a final decision on his future – and want the most successful boss in their history to extend his stay after 15 major trophies, including delivering a first Champions League. 

As reported by The Athletic, Begiristain was supposed to take his foot off the gas when he turned 55, but decided to carry on until the age of 60 as he was so engrossed in the challenge and working alongside Guardiola. He turned 60 in August. 

More to follow. 



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