‘Behind one man’ - Why Pep Guardiola is not the Premier League GOAT as exit talk builds around Man City boss

The consensus surrounding Guardiola’s revolutionary impact on English football is often met with questions regarding the infrastructure he inherited at the Etihad Stadium. Former West Brom and Stoke City manager Pulis has entered the conversation, suggesting that Guardiola’s brilliance was facilitated by a pre-existing Barcelona-style hierarchy. This backdrop differs significantly from the environment encountered by his predecessors, including Joe Royle and Roberto Mancini, who operated under vastly different club structures and expectations.

While acknowledging the profound effect Guardiola has had on everything from the national team to grassroots coaching, Pulis maintains that the City boss still sits in the shadow of a Manchester United icon. Having faced numerous City managers throughout his career, Pulis believes the Spaniard’s transformational power is unmatched by his peers, yet insufficient to claim the top spot.

In his BBC column, Pulis recalled: "If Pep does leave City this summer, English football is going to miss him a lot. During my career I faced four other City managers - Joe Royle, Mark Hughes, Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini. All four of them have given the game great service as players and managers, but none can compare with the effect Pep has had on City and English football as a whole, from grassroots football all the way up to the national team. Where does he sit when we look at the greatest managers of the modern era? For me he is only behind one man, Sir Alex."

The core of the argument rests on the level of institutional support provided to Guardiola compared to the monumental task Ferguson faced at Old Trafford. Pulis highlights that while City’s hierarchy was tailor-made for the Catalan's arrival, Ferguson had to overhaul a club that had spent nearly two decades in the wilderness.

He explained: "If you look back at when Pep joined City in 2016 and how seamlessly they both took to each other, you also have to remember what was in place before he was appointed. Both Txiki Begiristain and Ferran Soriano were already at the club, as director of football and chief executive, and both had worked with Pep at Barcelona.

"They wanted him at City and both of them understood the identity and direction he would want the club to take when he eventually took the reins. Mancini and Pellegrini were both completely different characters but had done exceptionally well at City and both won the title there.

When Sir Alex arrived at United, they had not won the title for 19 years. The biggest difference between him and Pep, though, is that Sir Alex had to knock everything down and build it up again, himself.

"He had people like Bobby Charlton and Martin Edwards there, who recognised it would take time and stuck with him when he had some bad moments in the early years, but it was down to him to do most of the work, from signing players and selling them, to producing a crop of outstanding young players and putting them in the team."

City face a period of immense uncertainty as Guardiola’s contract situation and ongoing financial investigations cloud the club's long-term future. The squad must navigate a high-stakes FA Cup final against Chelsea this weekend before turning their attention to a critical title run-in. Currently trailing leaders Arsenal by two points with two fixtures remaining, City’s pursuit of the crown concludes with decisive matches against Bournemouth and Aston Villa.