Wayne Rooney raises Pep Guardiola quit suspicion: 'He won't be at Man City'

Manchester United icon Wayne Rooney has cast doubt over Pep Guardiola's future at Manchester City, suggesting the Spaniard could leave even if they clinch the Premier League title this season. The former Derby County and Plymouth Argyle manager also hinted that Guardiola might depart from the Etihad Stadium regardless of whether they reclaim their crown from Liverpool.

Guardiola, 54, penned a deal in November 2024 to stay with City until 2027 and has since discussed his future, hinting he could retire at some point in the near future. City kicked off the new season with a resounding 4-0 victory against Wolves.

However, subsequent defeats to Tottenham Hotspur, 2-0 at home, and Brighton, 2-1 away, have raised eyebrows. After finishing third last season and experiencing a sluggish start to the current campaign, Rooney is sceptical about Guardiola's long-term commitment to the Sky Blues.

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Guardiola has led City to six Premier League titles, but his side team are currently undergoing a period of transition following the departure of key players like Kevin De Bruyne and Kyle Walker.

"When we went through it [transition] with Sir Alex Ferguson, there's no question that he's going to be the manager in three or four years time, so that makes it easier for a club in transition," the United icon said on The

"I feel, if Man City don't win the league this year, I don't think Pep will be there, so, it might be a team in transition, looking for a new manager and new players.

"Pep might not even be there if they do win the league so you don't know. I don't think it's one you can look at and say, 'Right, I'm going to take the next three years to rebuild a title-winning team.' There's still uncertainty of whether the manager will still be there."

When questioned whether he reckons City have recruited too many fresh faces too rapidly, Rooney agreed. He's also worried that City have lost their dressing room leaders and replaced them with a raft of untested players, reports the Manchester Evening News.

Guardiola has snapped up keeper James Trafford, winger Rayan Cherki, left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri and midfielder Tijjani Reijnders this summer. Gianluigi Donnarumma is also still set to seal a switch to City from PSG right at the death on deadline day.

"I think they've had to [sign new players] with players leaving. Man City have lost some pretty big characters from that dressing room when you look at it," Rooney continued.

"You think Kevin De Bruyne, Kyle Walker, Jack Grealish, and now it looks like Ederson is going to leave, so they've lost some big players.

"If they had a leadership group last season, probably all those players would be in that [group of players who have left]. They've lost a lot of leadership out of the team so I think that's difficult to replace, that know-how."

Following the Brighton defeat, Guardiola was in contemplative mood. "We were excellent for one hour," he told BBC Sport. "After the goal we forgot to play. We were thinking of the consequences."

However, he declined to comment on any early signs of trouble at City, with only three matches under their belt. "It's one game," Guardiola added. "The season has just started. There is a long, long season ahead of us. We will see what happens."

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