Next to the incomparable Claudio Ranieri, a strong argument can be made that former Man City manager Manuel Pellegrini had the most successful season of any Premier League manager. Despite being in the midst of a winnable season, Man City wanted to announce Pellegrini’s replacement mid-season and the Chilean boss obliged – a move he now regrets.
In an interview with The Guardian [per Sky Sports], Pellegrini confessed that it may have been a mistake to make the announcement that he would be stepping down at the end of the season just for the sake of being fair to incoming manager Pep Guardiola.
“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,” Pellegrini said.
“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.”
Following the announcement, Man City lost three straight games – effectively ending their Premier League title ambitions.
In three seasons at Man City, Pellegrini led the Citizens to the Premier League title and two League Cup titles. In the 2015-16 campaign he led the club to the Champions League Semi-Finals – their deepest run in the tournament ever.
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