Manuel Pellegrini has confirmed he will be leaving his job as Manchester City manager at the end of the season, with the club confirming Pep Guardiola is to take charge.
The Chilean has been widely mooted to be in the final stage of his time at the Etihad Stadium amid talk that Bayern Munich boss Guardiola has been lined up to take over at the club.
Guardiola has admitted he is leaving Bayern Munich at the end of the season, something which increased speculation he is bound for the Citizens.
And Manchester City have today issued a statement confirming Pellegrini will leave and Guardiola will take charge, while the Chilean confirmed the news at the end of his press conference.
The club's statement said: "Manchester City can confirm that in recent weeks it has commenced and finalised contractual negotiations with Pep Guardiola to become MCFC Head Coach for the 16/17 EPL season onwards.
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"The contract is for three years."
And Manchester City added that the statement is intended to remove continuing speculation from the equation: "Out of respect for Manuel Pellegrini and the players, the club wishes to make its decision publish to remove the unnecessary burden of speculation.
"Manuel Pellegrini, who is fully supportive of the decision to make this communication, is entirely focused on achieving his targets for the season ahead and retains the respect and commitment of all involved with the leadership of the club."
The Citizens are still involved in four competitions, the Premier League, the FA Cup, the League Cup and the Champions League.
