New Delhi: Txiki Begiristain, Manchester City’s long-term Director of Football has finally decided to step down from his role at the club, with effect from the next season. Having joined the club in 2012, shortly after their big money takeover, he will leave the club after 12 long years, where he oversaw the club’s most successful period in history, helping them become one of the biggest clubs in the world.
An attacker during his playing days, Begiristain carved out a great career for himself while playing for huge La Liga clubs like Real Sociedad and Barcelona, where he won a bucket load of trophies. A few years after he hung up his boots, Begiristain joined his former club, Barcelona, as their director of football and stayed in the role till 2010, playing a key role in bringing Pep Guardiola to the Catalan giants in 2008.
After leaving the Catalan club, Begiristain took up the role of director of football at Manchester City in 2012 and continues to do a terrific job in the role even today. He had planned to leave his duties five years back, when he was 55 years old, but stayed on due to his love for the club. He now leaves at the age of 60 at the end of the current season, which is expected to be a major one for the club, given they will be involved in the legal battle with the Premier League.
Txiki Begiristain: The Architect of Manchester City’s Success
Txiki Begiristain and Pep Guardiola have been key in transforming Manchester City. (Photo by Michael Regan – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
When Begiristain joined Manchester City, he was joining the newly minted Premier League Champions, embarking on an ambitious project alongside former Barcelona buddies. Begiristain’s appointed followed that of former Barcelona Economy Vice President Ferran Soriano, with whom he had worked with in Spain. They both joined Omar Berrarda in Manchester City’s backroom, who had been associated with the club since a year prior.
Begiristain has been key to the club’s success in the last decade or so as he’s helped build a foundation for the club, instilling a winning mentality and culture that we’ve gotten used to seeing at Manchester City. His keen eye for scouting talent saw the club recruit several of it’s top stars. He didn’t just sign players for the club, he was vital in steering the club’s footballing vision and giving ‘a virtually new’ club, an identity.
13 years of work.
21 trophies claimed.
Three different managers.
An entire squad transformed.
Consistently successful signings.
Thank you, Txiki Begiristain! 🩵 pic.twitter.com/lPhjnf47o6
— City Xtra (@City_Xtra) October 8, 2024
He was responsible for bringing in players like Raheem Sterling, Kevin De Bruyne and Fernandinho in the initial stages of his tenure to help establish the club as a destination for top stars. He would also facilitate the loan signing of legendary English midfielder, Frank Lampard, from sister club New York City FC, which proved to be a real coup for the club and also gave them a chance to rub salt into the wounds of the Chelsea faithful.
His biggest act of success at Manchester City however, is the appointment of Pep Guardiola. Begiristain and the former Barcelona manager were teammates during their days as players and the former appointed Guardiola as Barcelona manager in 2008. He was instrumental in getting Pep to sign for City, something that Pep confirmed himself. He stated in an interview, “If Txiki worked for Chelsea, I would probably have called Chelsea.” Not only did he get Guardiola to club, he even gave him the players like Ilkay Gundogan, Erling Haaland, Rodri, Kyle Walker, and many more that suited his style to help implement it better.
Who will succeed Txiki Begiristain at Manchester City?
Hugo Viana is the club’s preferred choice. (Photo by Gualter Fatia/Getty Images)
Manchester City haven’t yet named a replacement for Txiki Begiristain yet but it is expected that an announcement would be made soon enough. The next person who will be named the Director of Football at the club will have big shoes to fill. Not only would they have to match Begiristain’s success with his signings, they would also need to carry forward the vision that Begiristain instilled in the club.
It’s expected that Begiristain will help the club choose his successor in the role and a replacement can join the club as early as January 2025. Doing so will allow Begiristain to smoothly handover the process to his successor as he will be at the club for another few months. Having them both work for a few months will also go a long way in ensuring that the transition from Begiristain to his successor will be a smooth one.
The departure of Txiki Begiristain has been planned and the club has fully endorsed the withdrawal, according to @David_Ornstein. 👀
City are believed to already have an agreement in place for a successor to start early 2025 with a six month transition period. pic.twitter.com/t1swAF7Ybd
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) October 8, 2024
According to several reports, Sporting CP’s director of football, Hugo Viana is one of the names at the top of their list to replace Begiristain. The club has been impressed during his time at Sporting, where he oversaw the signings of brilliant players like Viktor Gyokeres, Ousmane Diomandé, and Morten Hjulmand. Apart from him, FC Porto’s sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta and Girona’s Quique Carcel are also highly appreciated by the club.
Manchester City’s Director of Football, Txiki Begiristain, who was instrumental to the club’s success, is all set to leave the English club at the end of this season after a long and illustrious tenure in Manchester. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
