Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has revealed that Pep Guardiola threatened to quit the club '100 times' during his 10-year tenure at the Etihad Stadium. Guardiola, who left the club at the end of the season, cited a lack of energy as the reason for his departure. In an annual end-of-season interview with club media, Al Mubarak described his role as Guardiola's 'psychiatrist' over the years, particularly during challenging times when the Catalan manager would express his desire to walk out.

'I will say that he’s more than just the manager of the club — to me, he’s a friend,' Al Mubarak said. 'We are close friends. And I will say, and I don’t know if he will admit it, but I consider myself his psychiatrist. I had to help him over the years. Not in the good times — the good times is easy – it’s always the challenging part. And inevitably over these last ten years, we’ve had a lot of ups and some downs. And in the downs, he must have quit 100 times over these ten years, just so you know, just for the record.'

Al Mubarak acknowledged the difficulty in managing Guardiola's emotional reactions to setbacks, drawing a comparison to 'The Boy that Cries Wolf.' 'In the case of Pep, when he says I quit, it doesn’t mean he’s quitting. You don’t take it that seriously — you have to manage him,' he explained. 'He never thought he would stay more than four years, then more than five years. So, in his mind, even year four and five it was always, 'Okay, how much more time?'

Despite the numerous times Guardiola considered leaving, Al Mubarak emphasized that he did not resist when the manager eventually decided to step down this summer. 'Because I knew this was the time he actually meant it,' he said. Enzo Maresca is set to replace Guardiola as the new manager, and while Al Mubarak did not explicitly name the Italian, he confirmed that an official announcement is forthcoming. 'I think what I can say at the moment is we’ve gone through a very thoughtful and structured process and the team is convinced – and I am convinced, rest assured – that we will bring in the right manager for this club,' he added. 'Just be patient with us. Very soon, we’ll announce it and you will be very comfortable that we have selected and brought in the best manager possible for this club.'