Manchester City confirm latest departure from Pep Guardiola’s first-team coaching staff

Manchester City have confirmed the exit of first-team assistant manager Rodolfo Borrell, who has left the club after almost a decade.

The 52 year-old becomes the second high-profile departure from Pep Guardiola’s coaching staff of the summer, following the exit of Enzo Maresca, who became the new manager at Leicester City.

Rodolfo Borrell and Maresca were both part of Guardiola’s staff for Manchester City’s historic treble-winning campaign, as the Sky Blues won the Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League.

Borrell has been at Manchester City since 2014, where he joined from Liverpool to become the club’s Academy Technical Director for two years, prior to joining Guardiola’s coaching team.

The Spanish coach is boasted as being Lionel Messi’s first coach at Barcelona and was also key to the development of footballing legends Cesc Fabregas and Andres Iniesta when working at the Camp Nou.

Borrell became assistant manager at the start of last season, though took charge of the Manchester City first-team for an FA Cup clash against Swindon Town in January last year, due to the absence of Guardiola and Juanma Lillo because of COVID-19.

The 52 year-old has left Manchester City to become Sporting Director at Austin FC in the MLS, ending a nine-year stay at the Etihad Stadium.

Following confirmation of his move to the United States, Manchester City Director of Football Txiki Begiristain said: “I would like to wish Rodolfo the best of luck in his new role at Austin FC.

“He has played a significant role in the Club’s achievements over the past nine years, both as Global Technical Director and after joining Pep Guardiola’s backroom team.

“The manager has often spoken about how important his coaching staff have been in helping him and the team achieve what we have. Rodolfo has, of course, been a major part of that during his time at Manchester City.

“I have every confidence that he will be a huge asset to both Austin FC and United States soccer.”

The exit of two members of Guardiola’s first-team coaching staff have prompted discussions with Juanma Lillo, who is currently in charge at Al Sadd in Qatar.

Both Lillo and his assistant in the Middle East Inigo Dominguez could move to Guardiola’s coaching team for the new campaign, with the Premier League champions reportedly in discussions to trigger an exit clause within the pair’s contract.

Lillo has previously worked with Pep Guardiola and Manchester City, helping the Blues to two Premier League titles and attending the Champions League Final in Istanbul last month.