MANCHESTER City supremo Txiki Begiristain is leaving the Premier League champions.
And the imminent departure of sporting director Begiristain will only increase speculation about the future of boss Pep Guardiola.
Begiristain, 60, joined City from Barcelona in 2012 and was instrumental in bringing Guardiola to the Etihad in 2015 to spark the most successful period in the club’s history.
He has played a key role in identifying and appointing his replacement, who will start in the role in early 2025.
The outgoing sporting director will spend six months helping the new man settle in before ending his association with City.
The identity of the Etihad’s new football chief has not been revealed.
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But Newcastle flop Hugo Viana, who is currently the director of football at Sporting Lisbon, is believed to be in the frame to take over.
The Potuguese, who had an underwhelming four years with the Toon after joining for £8million from Sporting in 2002, had been linked with a job working in Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s backroom team at Manchester United.
Begiristain was intending to quit five years ago, but stayed on to be part of the push for City to win their first Champions League – which they finally did when completing the Treble in 2022-23.
The news comes shortly after positive noises emerged from City about the possibility of Guardiola extending his current deal beyond the end of this season.
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Guadiola’s future is not necessarily tied in with that of Begiristain and the club would be very reluctant to say goodbye to the two most important people in their football operation in quick succession.
But the prospect of losing key ally Begiristain, especially after a current season which will be dominated by off-field events, will surely be a factor in Guardiola’s decision.
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The pair have known each other for more than 30 years after being team-mates in the Barcelona team that won the club’s first European title in 1992.
Begiristain became director of football at the Camp Nou in 2003.
Under him, Guardiola was given the job of head coach in 2008 and they enjoyed two successful seasons together before Begiristain left in the wake of the departure of president Joan Laporta.
Begiristain arrived at City a month after former Barcelona chief executive Ferran Soriano, who has held the same role at the Etihad for 12 years.
Their long-term plan to reunite with Guardiola and build a dynasty at the Etihad came to fruition nine years ago.
City have won 15 major trophies, including six Premier League titles and the crowns of European and world champions with the three men at the helm.
But the club has also found itself at the centre of the biggest row in Premier League history.
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A hearing is underway into allegations that City broke PL rules more than 100 times in relation to sponsorship deals, player and manager contracts and failure to cooperate with the investigation.
City deny all the charges. An initial verdict is expected in the spring, but the saga is unlikely to end there and Begiristain will be gone before everything is resolved.
Man City vs the Premier League: Q&A
By Martin Lipton
BOTH Manchester City and the Premier League were claiming a win after their legal scrap over Associated Party Transactions.
SunSport sifts the claims to try to explain the latest issues.
What was the case about?
City were furious that Prem bosses brought in new tougher regulations – by the smallest possible majority under League rules – in February. They were aimed at blocking clubs bypassing financial controls by earning “unfair” amounts via sponsorship from a company with the same owners, or selling players on the cheap to teams under the same ownership umbrella.
Why were City so upset?
The Etihad club argued that the rules were illegal and had been deliberately aimed at them by rivals and were both flawed and politically driven. They also branded the “two thirds support” rule that has been part of Prem regulations since its inception as a “tyranny of the majority”
This was an Arbitration Tribunal – explain that?
Under Prem rules, any club has the right to ask for Arbitration if they are unhappy about the regulations or due process. The three retired judges heard evidence in June and their full ruling was distributed to the 20 Prem clubs on Monday afternoon.
And what did they say?
Depending on who you listen to, they either totally vindicated one side or the other. The actual answer is that there were “wins” for both City and the Prem. But it’s your choice which ones meant more.
OK, what were City’s wins?
Maybe the most important one in terms of the repercussions. That both the new rules and the previous version – brought in after Saudi Arabia’s PIF bought Newcastle in 2021 – were “unlawful” as they exclude shareholder loans to clubs in any APT calculations. City also won over their claims that the rulebook prevented them from responding to Prem decisions over whether two proposed deals with Abu Dhabi companies represented “Fair Market Value”, access to the “databank” of comparable deals and the time it took for decisions to be reached.
That sounds pretty big. So what about the Prem’s side?
The key finding as far as the League is concerned is that the Tribunal backed the concept of APT rules as well as the Fair Market Value tests. Additionally, City’s challenges to the actual decisions on the two proposed deals “failed”. Prem bosses insist the “rulebook has been found to comply with competition and public law standards and is an effective and necessary system”.
Is that it, then?
Of course not. That shareholder loan issue is a big deal, given that it is believed owners have loaned around £1.5bn at low or preferential rates across the Prem. Those loans will almost certainly have to be calculated at commercial rates now, unless the owners convert them into shares. But the League is convinced the main thrust of the rules remains valid.
And what will be the impact on the “115 charges” case?
Probably nothing. That is an allegation of breaking the rules, while this matter was City questioning whether one small element of the current rulebook was legitimate. But City are using the same legal team, headed by £10,000 per hour Lord Pannick KC. And the stakes on the bigger case are a great deal higher.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
