Pep Guardiola ally Txiki Begiristain to leave Man City

Hugely influential director of football to step down with Porto’s Andoni Zubizarreta among the possible replacements

Manchester City director of football Txiki Begiristain is to leave the club at the end of the season but the move is not expected to unduly influence Pep Guardiola’s decision over his own future as manager.
Begiristain, 60, has already stayed at City several years longer than he anticipated but will now step down next summer with the club’s full blessing.
His decision is in no way related to this week’s controversy over the associated-party transaction rules verdict or their ongoing case involving around 130 Premier League charges.
City are understood to have already identified Begisitrain’s replacement and anticipate him starting in the role early next year so he has the benefit of a six-month handover in an effort to smooth the transition and ensure the club are well positioned in next summer’s transfer window. Begiristain has played a prominent role in the recruitment of his successor.
Andoni Zubizarreta, the Porto sporting director and a former Barcelona and Spain team-mate of Begiristain and Guardiola, has his admirers at City and it remains to be seen if he has been spoken to.
The same applies to Girona sporting director Quique Carcel but there is an expectation he will remain with the Spanish outfit, who are one of City’s sister clubs.
Begiristain is extremely close with Guardiola, both personally and professionally, but Guardiola has known for a long time this decision was coming and sources have indicated it is not expected to have a significant bearing on whether he stays or goes.
Guardiola is out of contract at City at the end of the season. The Catalan appeared to hint in the wake of City’s record fourth consecutive title triumph in May that this season may be his last at the Etihad Stadium.
But in late July on City’s pre-season tour of the US, Guardiola insisted he had not made a final decision on his future and refused to rule out extending his contract, saying first that he wanted to see how his team began the new season and whether his players retained the same appetite.
Begiristain joined City in October 2012. The Spaniard had originally planned to step back from front-line operations at City when he turned 55 but his commitment to the project and working with Guardiola saw him extend that to his 60th birthday.
Having reached that age in August, there was an acceptance that Begiristain would make this season his last, a decision made with the full knowledge and backing of the club’s hierarchy and Guardiola.
Begiristain has been a key figure in City’s extraordinary success over the past 12 years and is one of the most respected and best connected sporting directors in world football. 
He has overseen a host of hugely successful transfers including the signings of Kevin De Bruyne, Rodri, Erling Haaland, Ilkay Gundogan, Bernardo Silva and Ederson.