Manuel Pellegrini regrets timing of Pep Guardiola announcement

Manuel Pellegrini has confessed he harbours regrets over his mid-season announcement that Pep Guardiola had agreed to replace him as Manchester City manager this summer.

The Chilean is approaching the end of his three-year reign at the Etihad, a spell which included one Premier League title and two Capital One Cup success, after breaking with convention to confirm he was leaving this summer back in February.

City subsequently finished 15 points behind champions Leicester City, were knocked out of both the Champions League and the FA Cup and just scraped into the top four on the final weekend.

He told The Guardian : “After Guardiola said he was coming to England it was my decision [to go public] because all the media was talking about Guardiola here, Guardiola in Arsenal, Guardiola in Manchester United.

“It was not fair for all managers – when everyone knew he was coming here. If I ask if I would do that again… I have some doubts.

And looking back Pellegrini admits he regrets the impact revealing Guardiola’s arrival had on his players.

“I am very self-critical about what I do. Always. I don’t want to use [this] as an excuse but it was so difficult to work after that – not for me, for the players.

“It’s impossible to know if it was the right decision but when you see the consequence of losing immediately three games in a row, when you are winning the last five or something.

“The most difficult thing in a group is when you break something. Something was broken in that moment.”