Bayern confirms Guardiola’s departure at end of season

Bayern confirmed the news in a tweet, with a full statement from the club expected to be released soon after.

Current coach Guardiola, 44, has been linked with English sides Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal. “I am sure that Pep and our team will work even harder to achieve great sporting goals now that it’s certain that Pep will leave Bayern”.

Carlo Ancelotti is the favourite to succeed Guardiola with reports in the Spanish and German media saying that the Italian has a verbal agreement with Bayern. We are looking forward to working together. “We want to win everything this season, no matter how long it takes with the coach’s contract”.

Guardiola led Barcelona to Champions League triumphs in 2009 and 2011 during a four-season spell when the side claimed 14 titles and was widely considered the best in the world.

Bayern are also looking comfortable in their Bundesliga title defence, enjoying a eight-point difference with second placed Borussia Dortmund after 17 games. Bayern is comfortably ahead in the Bundesliga, it is in the quarterfinals of the German Cup and in the Round of 16 in the Champions League.

While preaching a possession-based game, patient build-up and a mean defence, Guardiola has altered Bayern’s style this season to be more ruthless in attack.

“I’m honoured that I will be the coach of Bayern Munich from next season”, he told fcbayern.de. He took a year’s sabbatical before taking over in Munich, where he surprised journalists at his presentation by speaking well in German. “It was the same when I was at Real Madrid. I’ve taken on three jobs during a season, with Juve, Milan and PSG, and they all turned out to be negative”.

Merson wrote in his column for the Daily Star: “If Pep Guardiola has a straight choice between Manchester United and Manchester City his decision is a no-brainer. That’s why I’m a coach”, Guardiola said at the time. He won the Champions League three times.

On Sunday, he was returning to his Barcelona home to spend Christmas and New Year with his family.

“Mourinho has just had an important experience, the kind maybe he has not had before in his career and when he is 60 he will be a better manager for it”, the 62-year-old Chilean added.

As matchwinner Thomas Muller recalled after Saturday’s 1-0 win over Hannover, it would not be the first time an outgoing coach has been successful at Bayern.

Halfway through his final season in Bayern, Guardiola is still on course for the elusive treble. You never know. But if the future is next year, the only thing I am anxious about is this year trying to win the most amount of titles I can and not worry about the other things’.

“Pep Guardiola will not extend his contract with FC Bayern Munich”.