Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has expressed his belief that current Burnley boss Vincent Kompany will become the new manager of Manchester City one day. Speaking in a press conference, Guardiola praised Kompany’s knowledge of the game and his work ethic, indicating that he would be an excellent candidate for the job.
Kompany is widely regarded as a Manchester City legend, having captained the club to four Premier League titles during his 11-year stint at the Etihad Stadium. He left the club in 2019 to take up a player-manager role at Belgian club Anderlecht before being appointed as the manager of Burnley in June 2022.
Despite only being in his second season as a manager, Kompany has already made a positive impression in the Championship with Burnley, guiding the team to the 1st in the table by a big margin and earning praise for his tactical nous and man-management skills.
Guardiola, who has been at the helm of Manchester City since 2016 and has won four Premier League titles, the FA Cup, and four League Cups during his tenure, believes that Kompany has all the qualities required to succeed as a manager at the highest level.
“Vincent Kompany is an incredible person, an incredible human being,” Guardiola said. “I’m pretty sure he’s going to come back here, and he will be a manager here one day. He knows absolutely everything about football. He’s a good guy, he’s a good person, and he can do it.”
Guardiola’s comments have fueled speculation that Kompany could be in line to succeed him as Manchester City manager when he eventually steps down from the role. However, Guardiola himself has not given any indication of when he plans to leave the club, and his current contract runs until the end of the 2022/23 season.
Kompany has previously spoken of his admiration for Guardiola and the influence he has had on his own managerial style. “I’ve learned so much from Pep,” he said in an interview with The Guardian last year. “But what’s really helped me is understanding how he thinks about the game, how he thinks about the training sessions. That’s been a big influence.”
🗣 "Sooner or later he will be the manager of Manchester City."
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) March 3, 2023
Pep Guardiola believes Vincent Kompany will one day become the manager of Manchester City 🙌 pic.twitter.com/lOcQFERGIQ
Should Kompany eventually take over as Manchester City manager, he would inherit a team that is currently one of the strongest in Europe, with a squad packed full of world-class talent. However, he would also face the challenge of maintaining the high standards set by Guardiola and continuing the club’s success in both domestic and European competitions.
For now, though, Kompany’s focus will be on his current role at Burnley, where he will be looking to build on the progress he has made so far and guide the team towards promotion to the Premier League. But with the endorsement of Guardiola and his track record as a player and a manager, it seems only a matter of time before Kompany returns to Manchester City in a new capacity.
