Real Madrid “identifies its preferred next manager,” which could cause turmoil for Manchester City.

Pep Guardiola has led Manchester City to the Premier League championship for nearly eight years, but his rumored successor could be moving to Madrid, which could cause havoc for the reigning champions.

Real Madrid has named Roberto De Zerbi as the successor to Carlo Ancelotti at Manchester City, which could lead to unrest in the club.

The manager of Brighton has positioned himself as a highly sought-after coach in Europe on account of his remarkable achievements in the Premier League. Last season, the club achieved their highest-ever finish in the Premier League, placing sixth. This accomplishment marked the club’s historic first qualification for Europe.

The Spanish titans took note of those accomplishments and have identified the Italian as the candidate to succeed Carlo Ancelotti, whose contract expires in June 2024. The 44-year-old is reportedly in contact with Madrid, as the Spanish newspaper Sport describes him as “the ideal profile to lead a reconstruction project” for the upcoming season.

Certainly, the news will diminish any ambitions Manchester City may have to hire De Zerbi in the event that Guardiola departs the club. Numerous individuals have speculated that the Italian is an obvious choice to replace the Spaniard, who gushed lyrical about him prior to last month’s 2-1 victory for City over their rival.

“No other team plays in the manner in which they do; it is singular,” Guardiola said of Brighton under De Zerbi. “Upon his arrival, I had a feeling he would have a tremendous impact in the Premier League; however, I did not anticipate him to accomplish this in such a brief period of time.