Sports
Why Guardiola’s legacy could exceed Ferguson’s, Wenger’s, Klopp’s
When Sir Alex Ferguson left Manchester United in 2013, he did so with a Premier League winners’ medal around his neck. The downside was that he squeezed every last bit out of an aging team and the handover to his successor David Moyes was a traumatic one from which United have never really recovered.
Jurgen Klopp didn’t leave Liverpool as a champion when he departed Anfield two years ago, but he did pass Arne Slot a squad in decent shape — evidenced by their title win 12 months after his exit.
And when Arsène Wenger called it quits at Arsenal in 2018, he left behind neither the Premier League trophy nor the players to achieve it. Major surgery has been required from Mikel Arteta to restore them as genuine contenders.
It’s clear that moving on from a manager who has been in position for a long time can be complicated.
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Manchester City might be about to go through the same thing as United, Liverpool and Arsenal, with doubts about whether Pep Guardiola will still be in charge in August. But if he does go, he’s in something of a unique position in the Premier League era when it comes to possibly signing off with a title and leaving behind a squad which — in theory — is only going to get better.
While still unconfirmed, there’s a growing feeling around City that Guardiola, 55, will leave at the end of the season. He is under contract until June 2027, but there was surprise at the time that the extension he signed in November 2024 was for two years rather than just one.
There will be very little shock if he doesn’t see out the final year.
There’s unlikely to be any kind of formal announcement while City are still in contention to win trophies; Guardiola has always looked to minimize distractions as much as possible.
Victory over Arsenal on Sunday has narrowed the gap in the title race to three points with five games to go — plus City have a game in hand — and with an FA Cup semifinal against Championship side Southampton to come on Saturday, there’s still the possibility of sealing a domestic treble after their success over the Gunners in the Carabao Cup in March.
Not even Ferguson went out like that.
Ferguson also left United with the club on the brink of a difficult transition. His title success in 2012-13 was achieved with a squad overly reliant on an older core of Patrice Evra, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Michael Carrick, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Robin van Persie. Only Carrick stayed on the playing staff beyond 2015.
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Giggs said recently on a podcast appearance with Ferdinand that: “Another sign of a good manager is the team he leaves behind.”
Ferguson’s successor, Moyes, made plenty of mistakes of his own, but his task was made more difficult because of the squad he inherited.
Guardiola has done it differently. He has overseen the departure of a number of experienced campaigners over the last 18 months including Éderson, Kyle Walker, Ilkay Gündogan and Kevin De Bruyne.
In their place, Guardiola has bedded in younger players like Marc Guéhi, Josko Gvardiol, Abdukodir Khusanov, Nico O’Reilly, Antoine Semenyo and Rayan Cherki.
The average age of the City squad this season is 26.1; the average age of the starting XI against Arsenal on Sunday was even lower, at 25.3.
Whether Guardiola stays or goes, there will be further investment in the squad this summer. But any money spent will be used to fill specific needs — a midfielder to replace the departing Bernardo Silva and possibly a right back — rather than making wholesale changes. The foundations of City’s next team are already in place.
Guardiola has said that City will be better next season. That has prompted some hope among fans that he might decide he wants to benefit from the improvement himself rather than hand the golden ticket to a successor — whether that’s his former assistant Enzo Maresca (who is currently out of work after leaving Chelsea) or someone else.
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He has shelved plans to leave before, most notably when he signed a second extension in November 2022, and one more crack at winning the UEFA Champions League might be tempting.
City have always been relaxed about Guardiola’s future, believing that their relationship is so strong that he would always factor in what’s best for the club as well as what works for him. It’s one of the reasons there were no internal concerns that he could leave last summer — despite a relatively poor season — because he knew a handover in a summer which included the FIFA Club World Cup would be difficult for the club to manage.
Whenever Guardiola decides to go, it will be a big blow for City.
The club have been molded around his vision since he arrived in 2016, and it’s paid off in the form of a bucketload of silverware. He could yet walk away as a champion while also leaving behind a team capable of adding more in the future.
And that is something not even Premier League greats like Ferguson, Klopp and Wenger were able to achieve.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday Washington had no objections to Iranian players participating in the 2026 Fifa World Cup but he added the players will not be allowed to bring with them people with ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
“Nothing from the US has told them they can’t come,” Rubio told reporters.
President Donald Trump also said his administration “would not want to affect the athletes” in comments he made at the White House.
The 2026 soccer World Cup is set to begin on June 11 across the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Paolo Zampolli, a Trump envoy who has no official connection with the World Cup, had earlier suggested that Italy should replace Iran at the tournament.
“The problem with Iran would be not their athletes. It would be some of the other people they would want to bring with them, some of whom have ties to the IRGC. We may not be able to let them in but not the athletes themselves,” Rubio said.
“They can’t bring a bunch of IRGC terrorists into our country and pretend that they are journalists and athletic trainers,” Rubio added. Washington has designated the IRGC as a “foreign terrorist organisation.”
Currently there is no suggestion Iran will withdraw or be banned from the tournament that Italy missed out on.
After the start of the Iran war, Iran requested that Fifa move the team’s three group matches from the US to Mexico, which was rejected.
The US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28. Iran responded with its own strikes on Israel and Gulf states with US bases. US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Israeli attacks in Lebanon have killed thousands and displaced millions. A fragile ceasefire in the Iran war began over two weeks ago.
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Cameras showed former New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch in the team’s draft room Thursday night during the first round.
At one point, Tisch was seen standing near Giants head coach John Harbaugh. Despite no longer holding a majority stake in the NFL franchise, Tisch remains the Giants’ chairman of the board.
ESPN obtained an NFL memo last month detailing plans by Steve Tisch and his siblings to transfer their stake in the Giants to trusts for their children.
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New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch warms up before the NFL game between the Washington Redskins and New York Giants at Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on Oct. 28, 2018. (Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire)
“Prior transfers to these Trusts were completed pursuant to 2023 and 2024 Finance Committee approvals,” the memo stated. “The Sellers now propose to transfer their entire remaining interests, totaling 23.1% of the Club, to the Trusts. … Following the transactions, the Sellers will no longer own any interest in the Club.”
It was not clear if the transfer requests were in any way related to Tisch’s name appearing in the Epstein files released by the U.S. Justice Department in January. Tisch’s name came up more than 400 times in the files. Tisch at the time said he knew Epstein but denied visiting Epstein’s island.
As for draft night, the Giants made what some viewed as an unconventional pick at No. 10, selecting offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa.
Francis Mauigoa of Miami celebrates after being selected as the tenth overall pick by the New York Giants during the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pa., on April 23, 2026. (Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
Before that, the Giants added another piece to their pass rush, selecting hybrid edge/off-ball linebacker Arvell Reese at No. 5.
Reese earned All-American honors at Ohio State and finished his first season as a full-time starter with 6.5 sacks.
Arvell Reese of Ohio State celebrates after being selected as the fifth overall pick by the New York Giants during the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pa., on April 23, 2026. (Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
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Reese is set to join a pass rush that includes Brian Burns, Abdul Carter and, likely, Kayvon Thibodeaux.
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One of the most intriguing stories entering the first round of the NFL Draft was where Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson might land. Well, fans got their answer sooner than they expected.
The Los Angeles Rams surprisingly selected Simpson with the No. 13 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
The selection isn’t completely out of left field and is arguably the best-case scenario for Simpson. The Rams have Matthew Stafford as their starter for 2026, but Stafford has flirted with the idea of retirement each of the past two offseasons. It’s clear the clock is ticking on his NFL career.
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The Los Angeles Rams pulled a stunner and drafted Alababam QB Ty Simpson with the No. 13 pick in the NFL Draft. (CFP/Getty Images)
Now, Simpson gets to sit behind one of the NFL’s best veteran quarterbacks, learn the position while adapting to life in the NFL, and not face immediate pressure to succeed. Additionally, the Rams are one of the most well-run franchises in the league right now. Sean McVay is an elite head coach who led the team to a Super Bowl victory to cap the 2021 season and just had the team within one win of another Super Bowl berth before falling to the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship.
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The most surprising aspect is the Rams looking toward the future, quite frankly. This is a team that has had no problem trading away first-round picks to make its team the best it can be each season. It seemed most likely the team would use the No. 13 pick to improve its team for next season, which could be Stafford’s last. Instead, the team decided to put itself in position for Stafford’s retirement without skipping a beat.
Los Angeles Rams QB Matthew Stafford, now 38-years-old, has flirted with retirement after each of the past two seasons. (Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)
There were several surprises in the first 13 picks of the 2026 NFL Draft: the Cardinals taking Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love at No. 3, the Titans selecting Ohio State wide receiver Carnell Tate at No. 4, the Kansas City Chiefs trading up to take LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane at No. 6 and even the Cowboys trading up one spot to make sure they drafted Ohio State safety Caleb Downs at No. 11.
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But the Rams completely abandoning their recent strategy (usually trading away first-round picks and loading up for now) to select Stafford’s heir apparent is easily the biggest early shock of the 2026 NFL Draft.
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