Pep Guardiola reached 1,000 games in management on Sunday when Manchester City defeated Liverpool 3–0. The milestone arrives after a managerial path that began with Barcelona B and continued through Barcelona and Bayern Munich before his prolonged spell in the Premier League.

“To reach 1,000 games in management is something very special for me,” he said, recognising his achievement. “When I started managing Barcelona B all those years ago, I never thought for one second about reaching 1,000 games. You just want to do a good job, play football the right way and see what happens.”

Guardiola’s managerial identity traces back to Barcelona’s decision 17 years ago to appoint a relative novice to replace Frank Rijkaard, despite José Mourinho’s strong push for the job. He guided Barcelona B back into the Spanish second tier in 2007–08 and, after promotion, led Barcelona to a historic sextuple in 2008–09. Those first six trophies were the opening chapter of a haul that has reached 40 trophies in his managerial career. A Mourinho-influenced burnout contributed to his departure after 247 games.

After a year out he joined Bayern Munich, managing 161 matches across three seasons. Guardiola helped perfect a modernising Bayern team influenced by Louis van Gaal; while they dominated domestically, they came up short in Europe. His move to the Premier League has further enlarged his record: Sunday’s statement win served as his 550th in charge of the Cityzens, by which point he had guided Manchester City to 15 major honours, including six league titles and a Champions League crown.

“Reaching 1,000 matches and achieving such longevity in football is a landmark that can never be underestimated and, to continue to deliver league, Champions League and domestic cup titles in three of Europe’s most competitive leagues is outstanding,” Sir Alex Ferguson commented, welcoming Pep to the club.

The wider list of long-serving managers underlines how rare such tenure is. Ferguson finished his 39-year career in 2013 with 2,155 games. Neil Warnock retired after a brief spell with Aberdeen in 2024 having overseen 1,960 games with 15 clubs. Vanderlei Luxemburgo managed 1,819 games between 1983 and 2021 while overseeing 21 clubs, including Real Madrid, and the Brazil national team between 1998–2000. Others noted include Guy Roux (1,754), Arsène Wenger (1,702) and Manuel Pellegrini (1,566 at Real Betis).

Luis Díaz has revealed that a conversation with Florian Wirtz played a meaningful part in his choice to leave Liverpool for Bayern Munich in July.

The Colombian winger departed after three-and-a-half years with the Reds, a spell that concluded with him helping to guide the club to the Premier League title last term. He completed the move to Bavaria for a reported fee of £65.5 million and has made an immediate impact.

In 14 appearances for Bayern Díaz has already contributed eight goals and five assists. He has claimed the German Super Cup and is part of a side that sits five points clear after a perfect start to the season.

Díaz described the pre-transfer conversation with Wirtz, the ex-Bayer Leverkusen star, as influential. “He told me that in the league there was a lot of intensity and that there was great teams. The stadiums are always full,” Díaz said of his talk with Wirtz, as quoted by ESPN Colombia and Bundesliga en Español on Instagram.

“He told me that I was going to enjoy it a lot and that I was going to do very well. For that, I thanked him.”

Wirtz’s assessment has been borne out by Díaz’s form as the Colombia international has been a regular threat in Bayern’s forward line. He has combined effectively with teammates such as Harry Kane and Michael Olise to trouble opposition defences and maintain Bayern’s dominant start.

Díaz’s move underlines how personal recommendations and first-hand impressions of a league can influence transfers. In this case a brief conversation appears to have reassured a player leaving a title-winning Premier League side that the Bundesliga would suit his game and his ambitions.

The 2025 FIFPRO World XI nominees were announced on Monday and the shortlist left a number of established performers off the list. Several omissions have prompted debate over which players deserved recognition.

Harry Kane was one of the most surprising names absent. He led the Bundesliga in scoring last season, finished with 41 goals in all competitions and won his first major trophy. Kane also finished fifth in the European Golden Boot race behind Kylian Mbappé, Viktor Gyökeres, Mohamed Salah and Robert Lewandowski. The shortlist included two of those names and excluded two, making his omission notable given his scoring numbers.

The exclusion of Gabriel also raised eyebrows. “It’s honestly preference comparing Gabriel and William Saliba, but for many who watched Arsenal closely the Brazilian was arguably the better of the two last season.” The piece highlights Gabriel’s role as a defensive leader who also poses a significant threat from set pieces and notes he is being spoken of as a potential player of the season for the current campaign.

Wojciech Szczęsny was another overlooked name. He returned from retirement midseason to join Barcelona in crisis and made his debut on Jan. 4. By the end of the campaign he had added three more trophies as Barcelona completed a first domestic treble. He subsequently earned a new contract extending his stay through 2027.

Liverpool’s midfield pairing also suffered from the voting. The article points to Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch being left out and argues both had strong claims. Mac Allister missed only three Premier League games last season, contributed 10 goal involvements and was an important part of the title-winning engine room.

Finally, Moisés Caicedo was highlighted as a major snub. Caicedo played every Premier League match last season as Chelsea secured a top-four finish under Enzo Maresca, scored in the UEFA Conference League final and played a major role in Chelsea’s FIFA Club World Cup victory over the summer.

These five absences underline the difficult choices in assembling a World XI and why the 2025 shortlist has drawn criticism.