OMNISPORT 

Manchester City has announced Pep Guardiola will take over as manager at the end of the season after Manuel Pellegrini confirmed he will leave the club when his contract expires.

Guardiola had already revealed he would depart Bayern Munich at the conclusion of the 2015-16 campaign and City has now announced that the Etihad Stadium will be his next destination.

The Premier League club's statement read: "Manchester City can confirm that in recent weeks it has commenced and finalized contractual negotiations with Pep Guardiola to become MCFC Head Coach for the 2016-17 EPL season onwards. The contract is for three years. These negotiations were a re-commencement of discussions that were curtailed in 2012.

"Out of respect for Manuel Pellegrini and the players, the club wishes to make its decision public to remove the unnecessary burden of speculation. Manuel, 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."

Pellegrini said he had rejected the chance to sign a new one-year contract with City and insisted the club was not doing anything behind his back.

He said during a news conference: "I talked with the club and told them I will finish my contract on the original date [June 30]. I could have extended my contract for one more year, but decided not to. There has been a lot of speculation, but they are not doing anything behind me."