Gundogan, who won 14 major trophies during his time at the Etihad Stadium before leaving for Barcelona in 2023 and returning for a second spell, made the comments as Enzo Maresca — the former Manchester City Under-23 coach and Guardiola assistant — closes in on a three-year deal to succeed the Spaniard.
"I think the most difficult thing is not to try to compare too much," Gundogan told the Mirror. "There are obviously a few names circling around, and we might be able to see who it's going to be. But maybe don't try to compare one to the other, because at the end of the day, every manager has his small little details."
He added: "They are different as human beings. They like other things. So just accept it, try to welcome with open arms."
Gundogan was careful not to frame this as pessimism about the future. His confidence in Manchester City's institutional quality is genuine — he believes the club will identify the right successor and that that person will succeed.
"I think the club is very good and very smart in kind of taking the right decisions, so I'm sure that the new person coming back in here will also be very successful."
What Gundogan was resisting was the inevitability of comparison — a trap that has consumed clubs who have tried and failed to replace legendary managers. Manchester United's decline following Sir Alex Ferguson's departure in 2013 is the defining cautionary tale.
Guardiola spent ten years at the Etihad Stadium, winning 20 trophies including six Premier League titles, the Champions League, three FA Cups and the historic treble of 2022-23. He never finished lower than third in the league. He never missed out on the Champions League.
Gundogan offered a personal memory of what it was like to work under him.
"There are so many to be honest. Where I got into fights with him on the training pitch," he said. "Pep was saying something and I screamed back at him, but he was actually saying something nice to me and I lost my head. He was laughing about the whole situation."
The two lived next door to each other in Manchester city centre, sharing glasses of wine and conversations that went beyond the training pitch.
Maresca knows City well too. He managed their Under-23 side in 2020-21 before becoming Guardiola's first-team assistant during the treble-winning 2022-23 campaign. He was sacked by Chelsea in January after a difficult first half of the season.
The task is daunting. The standard is, by Gundogan's own admission, unrepeatable. Whether that truth is freeing or paralysing for the next man may define the next era.