Pep Guardiola to Manchester City: Chelsea, Arsenal and United fans react on Twitter as Spaniard picks City

On a day which is usually reserved for transfer tittle-tattle, Chilean boss Pellegrini announced he will stand aside

Pep Guardiola is much in demand but has failed to win the Champions League with Bayern Munich (Getty Images)

Manchester City sent a shockwave through the football community this afternoon when they announced Pep Guardiola will replace Manuel Pellegrini as manager at Eastlands next season.

While the contents of the revelations were far from seismic given the flood of speculation about Pellegrini’s position in recent weeks, the timing nonetheless set Twitter ablaze – as it was always likely to.

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.

“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.”

It’s safe to say Twitter responded accordingly...

An old Pep cliche made an appearance

As did jokes about cult film icon Mike Bassett

Arsenal fans were predictably dismayed

Others hope he crashes and burns

There's that cliche again

Manchester United fans waded in

You can't deny this logic

It's been a big day for some

But, in essence, this tweet summed up the mood of most rival fans

On a day which is usually reserved for transfer tittle-tattle, Chilean boss Pellegrini revealed will stand aside to facilitate Guardiola’s much anticipated arrival on June 30.