Twitter silence and manager regret – the Man City announcement that changed football

Pep Guardiola was announced as Manchester City manager on February 1, 2016, in unusual circumstances. 06:00, 01 Feb 2026 On the day Manchester City announced Pep Guardiola as their next manager, a look at their social media would not have given the game away. The club’s official Twitter account posted 39 times on February 1, 2016 but there was not one mention of the generational coach typed out. Where any signings today are not complete without an enormous package of photos, videos, graphics and AI-generated content, the closest City came to announcing a coup that would change world football was a link to a club statement that was accompanied by a corner flag picture that usually points to a sacking – and the statement in full later that day on a blue background with the club crest. If that points to the leap in social media and club content over the last decade, it also reflected the fact that City hadn’t in fact sacked a manager – he had just been told his time was up. As part of his arranged farewell, he got to decide how it was announced. FOLLOW OUR MAN CITY FACEBOOK PAGE! Latest news and analysis
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