Pep Guardiola to Manchester City: Twitter reacts as City announce Spaniard will replace Manuel Pellegrini in summer

On a day which is usually reserved for transfer tittle-tattle, the Pellegrini dropped a bombshell

Pep Guardiola (GETTY IMAGES)

Manchester City seized the limelight on transfer deadline day with the announcement that Pep Guardiola will replace Manuel Pellegrini as manager at the Etihad next season.

On a day which is usually reserved for transfer tittle-tattle, the Chilean announced during his weekly press briefing that he plans to stand aside to facilitate Guardiola’s much anticipated arrival on June 30.

While the contents of the revelations were hardly surprising, given the deluge of speculation about Pellegrini’s position, the timing caught the world of football off guard.

In an official statement handed to members of the media this morning, the Manchester club said: “Manchester City can confirm that in recent weeks it has commenced and finalised contractual negotiations with Pep Guardiola to become MCFC Head Coach for the 16/17 EPL season onwards. The contract is for three years.

“These negotiations were a re-commencement of discussions that were curtailed in 2012. Out of respect for Manuel Pellegrini and the players, the Club wishes to make its decision public to remove the unnecessary burden of speculation.”

It’s safe to say Twitter was set ablaze by the announcement...

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City's statement added: “Manuel Pellegrini, who is fully supportive of the decision to make this communication, is entirely focused on achieving his targets for the season ahead and retains the respect and commitment of all involved with the leadership of the Club.”

Pellegrini could yet win the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and Capital One Cup with the Sky Blues still in with a shot in all four competitions.