As Pep Guardiola announces he’s leaving MCFC as manager after a decade, we take a look at the Spaniard’s love of Manchester as a city and the legacy he’s leaving behind
Legendary manager Pep Guardiola’s 10-year stewardship has seen Manchester City win 20 trophies, but he has been equally successful in winning Mancunian hearts. Confirming his departure yesterday, Pep said: “Nothing is eternal, if it was, I would be here. Eternal will be the feeling, the people, the memories, the love I have for my Manchester City.”
Mixing with everyone from locals at the coffee shop to Oasis stars, the 55-year-old Spaniard has become part of the fabric of Manchester life. A man of routines, from his morning espresso at Vero Moderno in Salford to his regular pilgrimage to The White Company on King Street, locals have grown used to his habits.
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None more so than brothers Eamonn and James Clarke – both photographers – who have been snapping him for a decade. Eamonn, 61, who has shot Pep in and around Manchester more than 11,000 times, feared he might quit when he shut his upmarket eaterie. He says: “When we heard he’d shut his city centre restaurant, Tast, last December, literally overnight, we knew the writing was on the wall.”
Opened in 2018, Tast been his preferred meeting place. Eamonn says: “He installed a secret door at the back of Tast with a keycode so he could sneak in and head straight to the private room on the second floor to do all his meetings. Whenever he came in the front, it would take him 20 mins to get through the bar, because everyone would want selfies with him.”
Superfan and MCFC content creator Steve Lumb, 44, confirms he was often spotted there on Sundays, saying: “He’d be in the window with friends, enjoying a bottle of wine. He’s a very quiet guy. He has a bit of an aura about him.”
Pep, who has three children with his ex-wife, Cristina Serra – Maria, 25, Marius, 22, and Valentina, 17 – lived, worked and partied in the hubbub of central Manchester. Last year, he was spotted boozing with the Gallagher brothers’ families backstage before the Oasis comeback gig at Heaton Park.
Speaking fondly of Pep, Eamonn says: “He’d tell us, ‘No, come back, take a nice picture’. He’s a normal bloke, quite serious. When he plays golf, it’s at a municipal course called Fairfield in Audenshaw. We spotted him there often with his son.”
When Pep first moved to Manchester, he rented an apartment in the plush Number One Deansgate complex. Eamonn says: “He and Mikel Areta lived in the same building, they were best mates and often spotted together. We snapped them arriving at the airport for a Champions League game in Barcelona 2016.”
Pep then bought a place in City Suites, across the river in Salford. Eamonn says: “It was the penthouse, had it modified to his specifications. A couple of other City players lived in the building too, like David Silva and İlkay Gündoğan. It’s interesting, because Sir Alex Ferguson didn’t allow his players to live in the city centre. He wanted them to live out in leafy Cheshire. But Pep was very different.
“City Suites is a really weird place to buy a flat, because it’s also a service hotel with apartments. You get flight crews there, hen parties. But it’s a minute walk to Harvey Nicols and Selfridges. It’s bang in the centre. The building doesn’t have its own car park, so we’d often snap him on the way from the public car park to the flat. But, mark my words, he knows all the back streets!”
Pep often preferred to use his luxury Pinarello bicycle, worth around £5,000. Steve says: “He used to ride up and down the Manchester ship canal, and he liked going on his bike at night. It was calm then. He could probably do 10 to 15 miles with nobody knowing who he was. I used to see him knocking around the Northern Quarter too.”
Eamonn adds: “He was always on that thing [the bike], on the pavement, riding the wrong way down Deansgate. We saw him cycling all the time. He cycled to say goodbye to Kyle Walker when he left Man City in 2025, meeting him for sushi at Musu. He walked a lot too. He really used the city.”
Snapped at upmarket restaurants including Lunya, Australasia, Rosso – owned by Rio Ferdinand – Wings and Tattu, after visiting Whole Bunch Wines with his son in Prestwich, owner Tom Sneesby, said of the pair: “Lovely down to earth guys. Friendly, humble and sound as f***!”
Pep would even pose for selfies with fans while out Christmas shopping. Eamonn says: “He does tend to get mobbed. He almost has to plan his escape from his home now to avoid a crowd.”
While with his ex-wife Cristina, she lived in Barcelona, but often visited Manchester before their marriage ended in December 2025. Eamonn says: “We would see her when she visited him in Manchester and we’d snap them walking into restaurants. They liked The Ivy.
“But his nights out for the last few years have always been with his coaching staff. One of my favourite shots is him coming out of Tapeo & Wine, which was opened by Juan Mata’s dad. He’d been out with his staff and there was a party outside. He was chatting away.”
A lover of the arts, Pep enjoyed seeing plays. Eamonn says: “He went to see West Side Story four times at the Royal Exchange. Maria is his daughter’s name, after all.”
One of Eamonn’s favourite spots to shoot Pep, was at Manchester Piccadilly train station. He says: “When City play north London they get the train, and for south or west London, they fly. When they fly they go through a private terminal and you can’t see it, so we did like it when they got the train.
“We learned their routines. They get two first class carriages to themselves. The bus pulls up to the back of the station and they come in that way. We’d snap them with their game faces on. I’ve been shooting Pep for a decade. Manchester will miss him when he’s gone.”
Steve says: “He’s embraced the club, the city, the supporters. He’s built a monster of a machine in Manchester City. I’m gutted to see him go.” Bowing out with love after his final encore when Man City play Aston Villa on Sunday, Pep said: “As my time comes to an end, be happy. Oasis are back again. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for trusting me. Thank you for pushing me. Thank you for loving me….Love you all.”
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