The club remain officially committed to the position that Guardiola is contracted for next season and have expressed hope he will stay. However, work is understood to be under way to plan for life beyond him, including consideration of whether to name the newly expanded North Stand in his honour.
When asked directly about his future ahead of Tuesday's trip to Bournemouth, Guardiola sighed and repeated a line he has used consistently throughout recent weeks.
"Next. So many times — I have one more year."
He was also asked about the prospect of the North Stand being named after him and dismissed the idea.
"No, no, no, no, no, no, I have no idea about that. They don't have to do anything, honestly."
The contradictions between Guardiola's public statements and the internal preparations at the club have characterised the final weeks of the season. At the FA Cup final preview, he said he would be back at Wembley next year. In a BBC interview before the final, he said "yeah" when asked if he would still be at Manchester City next season, adding that he had a contract.
Former Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca, who served as Guardiola's assistant during the 2022-23 treble-winning season, is the frontrunner to succeed him. Fabrizio Romano has confirmed a verbal agreement is in place between Maresca and City contingent on Guardiola's departure.
Guardiola has won 20 major trophies at City across ten years, including six Premier League titles, the Champions League, three FA Cups and five EFL Cups. City go into Sunday's final fixture against Villa still with a mathematical chance of the league title, needing a win and an Arsenal slip on Monday.