Pep Guardiola will manage Manchester City next season

The full statement is below, but perhaps the most interesting note is that City are announcing this now “out of respect for Manuel Pellegrini and the players” and to “remove the unnecessary burden of speculation.” What effect the burden of expectation and lame duckery will have is anybody’s guess.

Also of note: “These negotiations were a recommencement of discussions that were curtailed in 2012,” presumably as Guardiola was leaving Barcelona for his sabbatical. City, of course, were managed by Roberto Mancini at the time, and were on the way to winning the title. Ruthless bunch, these City executives.