Man Utd have shown Man City how NOT to replace a legendary manager - but who is the right man to step into Pep Guardiola's shoes?

Although Guardiola is under contract at City until June 2027, there is a growing expectation that he will end his decade-long reign at the club at the end of the current campaign. It has been reported that City have already begun their search for his eventual replacement and twice spoke to Enzo Maresca, leading to his split from Chelsea. 

While Guardiola is refusing to say whether he will continue until the end of his contract, he has told City to “be prepared” for his eventual departure. And if he does depart this summer, then Guardiola's successor will inherit a City squad with a much brighter future than the United one Ferguson passed on to Moyes, which featured many players who were past their peak but who could not stomach the new manager’s ways.

And in contrast to Moyes walking into a club with the double-power vacuum caused by highly-respected chief executive David Gill leaving at the same time as Ferguson, Guardiola is set to leave behind a strong football ecosystem, the club still ran by his long-time friend Ferran Soriano as chief executive and with sporting director Hugo Viana already in place while being credited with smart recruitment decisions.

Most crucially, City will still be the centrepiece of Abu Dhabi’s soft power project and in rude financial health, unlike the debt-laden club United were in 2013 - and still are - after years of neglect from the Glazer family.

United have tried almost every profile of manager since Ferguson and they have all failed. The supposed ‘safe hands’ of Moyes, who had a similar upbringing and values to Ferguson and had been in charge of Everton for more than a decade, failed spectacularly. They then tried the total football of Champions League-winning maverick Louis van Gaal, who fared better than Moyes but served up predictable gameplans and alienated many players. 

Serial winner Mourinho, a Premier League champion with Chelsea just one year before being appointed, didn’t work out either, and while club man Solskjaer brought a wave of nostalgia and euphoria, he couldn’t get the team to take the next step while his fall was sharp and painful. 

Up-and-coming managers like Ten Hag and Amorim, who had huge success in their homelands, have also failed. All appointments, bar perhaps Moyes, were generally greeted enthusiastically by United fans, but they all failed in different ways and for different reasons. City, then, need to heed the warnings of their neighbours.

One thing United failed to do was appoint a truly elite manager in his prime, and that is what City must do. It is why Luis Enrique makes the most sense of all the candidates out there.

The Paris Saint-Germain boss might sound like too obvious a choice given he also followed Guardiola at Barcelona  - albeit two years after the Catalan stepped down - and had also cut his teeth with Barca’s B team. But he is the most similar in profile to Guardiola and the man most equipped to ensure that City do not descend as a force like United did when their all-conquering leader calls time.

Just like Guardiola, Luis Enrique won the treble in his first season with Barcelona and retained the Spanish title in his second campaign, also winning the Copa del Rey in each of his three seasons at Camp Nou. His time in charge of Spain was disappointing overall, but he has more than rebuilt his reputation at PSG, winning Ligue 1 and the Coupe de France in his first two seasons as well as delivering the club’s long awaited first Champions League title last season, making him one of only two coaches in history, alongside Guardiola, to have won the treble with two teams.

Luis Enrique garnered respect from the players due to his brilliant playing career, but when he tried to exert too much authority on Lionel Messi, he also had the humility to back down, rather like Guardiola had to do on the occasions the Argentine genius kicked up a fuss.

But Luis Enrique has also shown the merits of not bowing down entirely to player power and ultimately retaining the respect of his squad. He had no qualms about telling Kylian Mbappe to ‘defend like a son of a b*tch’, and when the France superstar left PSG, they produced their best football ever. 

He also deserves great credit for helping Ousmane Dembele in his transformation from a player who in his own words, “threw away five years of my career”, into a Ballon d’Or winner. Luis Enrique can also match Guardiola’s intensity and keep City on the relentless track they have stayed on over the past decade.

It will be far from easy, however, to convince PSG to let Luis Enrique go, especially given the rivalry between the Qataris and Abu Dhabi. His current deal runs until 2027, making him a viable option if Guardiola chooses to see out his own contract, though reports have suggested that Luis Enrique could walk away from Parc des Princes this summer amid a contract stand-off.

Xabi Alonso’s dramatic exit from Real Madrid gives City another top-level option who will definitely be on the market this summer. Guardiola greatly admired Alonso when he coached him at Bayern Munich, and the admiration only strengthened with the ex-Liverpool midfielder's achievements at Bayer Leverkusen. 

Alonso has shown himself to be an excellent tactician, although the sight of Madrid’s players blatantly defying him by refusing to give Barca a guard of honour after the Supercopa final leaves some doubt over whether he would be able to keep his grip on another squad of superstars if he got the City job. Then again, Madrid have never embraced overbearing coaches, unlike City.

Vincent Kompany, meanwhile, is the romantic option, and a compelling one too given his incredible record at Bayern, who are unbeaten in the Bundesliga this term. However, it feels just a touch too early in Kompany's coaching career to return to the club where he spent 11 years as a player. Kompany will also need to improve his record in the Champions League after last season’s disappointing quarter-final exit to Inter.

Then there is Maresca. Like Alonso, the Italian is a free agent after leaving Chelsea and is clearly highly regarded by City, having coached their Under-21 side to a league title and then helping the first team win the treble as Guardiola’s assistant. 

Maresca is a disciple of the positional style perfected by Guardiola and his record away from City, winning promotion with Leicester City and lifting two trophies at Chelsea, is also impressive. But the manner in which he left Stamford Bridge should ring alarm bells at City, and so too should some of his tactical decisions as well as the varying levels of respect he had within the Chelsea squad.

Whoever replaces Guardiola should not be expected to come close to matching his record. He is, after all, one-of-a-kind. It is why finding his successor is such a daunting prospect and one City cannot afford to get wrong. Just ask United.