Pep Guardiola’s Man City are dull but he’s greatest ever Premier League manager – not Sir Alex Ferguson

Pep Guardiola has had the biggest impact on English football of any manager ever.

That is the view of talkSPORT’s Jason Cundy following the news the Manchester City boss is set to leave the club this summer.

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Guardiola will depart the Etihad Stadium at the end of the season after 10 years in charge.

During that time, he has won 20 major trophies including six Premier League titles, the Champions League and the Club World Cup.

City have also won both four league titles and an historic treble during Guardiola’s tenure.

Enzo Maresca is expected to succeed Guardiola in the dugout having left Chelsea in January.

The Italian has agreed a three-year deal in principle to become City’s new manager, talkSPORT understands.

Guardiola is ‘best this country has seen’

Ahead of Guardiola’s exit, though, Cundy has admitted he has left a bigger mark on English football than Sir Alex Ferguson.

The former Chelsea defender believes that despite often finding City’s style of play ‘dull’, Guardiola has proven his greatness over time.

Cundy reacted to the news on The Sports Bar alongside Jamie O’Hara on Monday night.

He explained: “I found Pep’s style at times quite dull to watch because they were passing for the sake of passing.

“They would just pass you to death, get a goal, pass you to death. It was dull.

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“Then I thought the last time they won it (the Premier League), there was an urgency about them, there was an urgency about the way they played and I think that (Jurgen) Klopp helped Pep change the way he looked at it as well.”

Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp were involved in a string of enthralling title battles between City and Liverpool.

The Reds’ Premier League triumph in 2020 was immediately followed by City winning four titles in a row, the first club to do so in English top-flight history.

Cundy continued: “Pep’s going to go down as probably the best manager this country has ever seen.

“I know you’re going to say Sir Alex but I think when you look at what Pep has done, I think we will reflect and go, ‘I think Pep probably is’.”

Guardiola’s impact

However, O’Hara disagreed, instead arguing that Ferguson’s legacy remains greater than that of Guardiola.

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In response, he said: “I get you’re allowed an opinion, but you can’t sit here and say Pep’s the greatest manager in Premier League history, he’s not.”

Cundy explained his reasoning, though, adding: “I’m starting to come around to that way of thinking.”

Ferguson won 13 Premier League titles during 27 years in charge of Manchester United prior to his retirement in 2013.

When O’Hara put his superior number of titles to Cundy, he replied: “Over a longer period, in that nine year period that he’s been there. Sir Alex changed the face of football.

“I agree with that as well, but Pep probably had the biggest impact on English football ever, for my money, and some for good, some for bad.”

Guardiola could still add a seventh Premier League winner’s medal to his collection this season.

City can pip Arsenal to the title if they win their last two matches, starting against Bournemouth on Tuesday night.

His side have already won the Carabao Cup and FA Cup this season.

Meanwhile, Guardiola has won 423 of his 591 matches in all competitions since taking charge in 2016, including 269 league victories.

The Spaniard’s final match as City boss is set to be at home to Aston Villa on Sunday.