There can be no doubt whatsoever that Pep Guardiola is the best coach of his generation and his transformed Man City into serial winners.
If the Catalan can hold off the challenge of Arsenal and his former assistant, Mikel Arteta, then he will become the first manager in Premier League history to have won four titles in a row, and it would also be City’s sixth English top-flight win in seven seasons.
It’s that kind of domination that’s likely to see him move on soon according to former Everton chief executive Keith Wyness.
Pep Guardiola could leave Man City soon
With 115 charges regarding Financial Fair Play hanging over their heads too, Guardiola might well be getting out at the right time.
“He’s always said that he’s been given assurances that City have done nothing wrong,” Wyness said on Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast.
“But I think he’s coming towards the end of his natural time at the club anyway, maybe one or two seasons down the road. I think he may be ready for a fresh challenge.
“There’s no doubt that he’s at the top of his game and he’s a superb manager, but everything has its time.
“I think his exit may coincide with the results of these cases. It may just be for football reasons after all.”
There will of course always be a debate as to who the best coach of all time is, with Sir Alex Ferguson a clear front runner thanks to his longevity and the manner in which he consistently managed to reinvent his side.
Guardiola is coming up on the rails in terms of trophies won, but were Man City to be found guilty of any charges, his tenure at the Etihad Stadium would forever be tarnished.
In the meantime all he can do is continue to motivate his squad, which isn’t necessarily easy just because he can have the pick of big names and interchange his personnel seemingly without any drop off in quality.
It’s worth dwelling on just how much of an impact he has had on English football too.
There is evidently a ‘before and after’ Pep, with most clubs now playing out from the back and looking to pass their way up the pitch rather than knocking it long to a ‘traditional’ centre-forward.
That, more than anything else, is almost certain to be his most lasting legacy.