Pep Guardiola's time to go: Closest confidant tells him to WALK OUT on Man City - and find 'new project'

Pep Guardiola has been advised to leave Manchester City by one of the men he trusts the most.

Carles Planchart, one of his former performance analysts, says Guardiola should take a break to 'regenerate' himself then look for a 'new project'.

The duo worked together at Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and Manchester City before Planchart left his role last season.

And as somebody who spent 18 years working with Guardiola, he thinks the gaffer needs to step away for a while if he wants to prolong his career in management.

The Spaniard's contract expires in 2027 and he has previously said he wants to take a break after leaving the Etihad Stadium - perhaps even a '15-year' one - in a hint that the daily grind may have worn him down like it did to Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool.

'It's a personal decision he'll have to make. I think a project should last five or six years, no more,' Planchart told SPORT. 

'But not for him, for everyone. Afterward, you have to regenerate. As a friend, I would tell him to look for a new project because he still has a long way to go. 

'This is why he's been at City for so many years: they've treated us like family, they've let us work as if we were at home. He didn't feel that way at Barca or Bayern.

'He's a football fanatic. His life is on the green, on the grass. He's a genius, a creator. His greatest strength is how he invents football. The difficult thing in this life is creating; the rest of us are copycats. He's number one at this.'

Some felt Guardiola was running out of steam last season. After four consecutive Premier League titles, City stumbled to third place - a good finish but short of their typical high standards. 

Multiple times throughout the season, Guardiola was seen with scratches on his head after games, sparking concern about his welfare. 'I want to harm myself,' he joked after a 3-3 draw against Feyenoord, before later apologising for the comment. 

Planchart puts last campaign's shortcomings down to a lack of vitality compared to other seasons. 

He told SPORT: 'Sometimes you lack energy, and when you get into a bad dynamic, it's hard. In football, you always have to be at 100 percent. We had injuries, people were at the end of their careers.

'There was a drop in performance, even among the staff. The lack of energy forced us to fight just to get into the Champions League, and it was an achievement. We also lost the cup final; it was punishment for a poor season.'

Planchart had worked for Guardiola since 2007.

Explaining his role upon joining City, he said: 'There are basically two parts to this job: the analysis of your own team and that of your opponent. And they are two entirely different tasks. 

'You’re working in a club that has a game every three days, so you just don’t have time to correct all their mistakes on the pitch. You therefore need to use other methods to communicate the corrections which are impossible to get through to them during a game. 

'If you happen to have a whole week of training sessions then, of course, you can plan a series of exercises to correct the errors. Often, the most efficient method is to show them visual images, because that gets the idea across very quickly.'