Photos: Does this photo prove Guardiola is leaving Man City?

Is Pep leaving the Etihad? [Courtesy]

Reports of Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola leaving the Etihad are now gathering steam as the busy summer begins.

This is after Juventus’ Sporting Director Fabio Paratici was pictured on Tuesday, May 21 outside the Palazzo Parigi Hotel in Milan, a place where the City tactician resides.

Fabio Paratici was spotted at Guardiola's Milan hotel [Courtesy]

Details of the story are not yet clear, but Italian publication Sportitalia claimed the pair had a private meeting, although it was not the purpose of Pep’s visit to Italy.

Fabio Paratici spotted entering the Palazzo Parigi hotel in Milan, where Guardiola is staying. pic.twitter.com/utYBTwRPY6 — Tarek Khatib (@ADP1113) May 21, 2019

 

It is believed that Guardiola is in Italy for a charity event with sponsors.

Italian renowned journalist Federico Gennarelli has also had his say on the matter, claiming that the deal is already done.

“It was supposed to be the decisive day. It was: Pep #Guardiola will be the new coach of the #Juventus. 4-year contract. Deal done.” Gennarelli posted on Twitter.

Juventus now have a vacant managerial position after Massimiliano Allegri left last week. The Italian led the Old Lady to five of eight consecutive Serie A titles since arriving in 2014 from AC Milan. He secured the league and cup double in his first four seasons. They reached the Champions League final in 2015 and 2017, losing to Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively.

Juventus now have a vacant managerial position after Massimiliano Allegri left last week [Courtesy]

Guardiola has been a success at Manchester City since arriving from Bayern Munich in 2016. The Spaniard secured a domestic treble in the just-concluded campaign and guided City to become the first men’s team in English football history to win the League title and both cup competitions in the same season.

The Cityzens wrapped up their season in style by thrashing Watford 6-0, on Saturday, May 18th, - the joint-biggest margin of victory in any final in the competition’s 147-year history.

However, there is one piece of silverware that has eluded Pep for a while now, the Champions League. It is believed that his ultimate ambition in Manchester is to win it for the Sky Blues and claim Europe’s biggest price himself for the first time since 2011.

Guardiola attracted criticism when he failed to progress past the semifinals of the competition in three seasons at Bayern Munich. After the same time at City, he has so far failed to achieve what he craves most, having lost to Liverpool last season and to Tottenham this season.

The vacant seat in Turin would be appealing to Guardiola since the Italian giants own similar ambitions to his. They made their intentions known by signing five-time Champions League winner   Cristiano Ronaldo last summer as they seek their first success in the competition since 1996.?