In 2016, when Pep Guardiola took his place in the dugout for his first game in charge of Manchester City, the fashion plates in the Premier League included José Mourinho, in a quarter zip and mac at Manchester United and Arsène Wenger, dapper in his suit and unzippable puffer jacket at Arsenal.
Guardiola, dressed like an overgrown schoolboy in V-neck, shirt, tie and blazer, didn’t seem as if he was going to be that much of a sartorial threat. But 10 years down the line, he is the undisputed champion of dugout style.
Guardiola, who confirmed on Friday that he is leaving Man City after 10 years in charge, can be credited as the man who relaxed the unwritten manager dress code, which swung between wedding-worthy smart suits or club-issued tracksuits.
Instead, he chose clothes that worked beyond that small patch of grass managers stand on: blouson jackets, nice brogues, three-quarter coat.
By 2019, his style was a talking point – and he had a hand in making cardigans a trend for men. He wore a £1,200 “lucky” grey knit 30 times in the season Man City won a domestic treble.
Guardiola’s loosening up continued, with the addition of baseball boots by catwalk designer Rick Owens as well as combat-style trousers and Stone Island jackets.
If he was increasingly praised for what he wore, in 2022 he credited his then-wife, Cristina Serra, as the person to pick his outfits (the couple split in 2025).
“Absolutely, ever since I met her,” he told Sky Sports “before I was a disaster, now I’m elegant, thanks to her.”
When Guardiola wore a slacker-style checked shirt by Swedish brand Our Legacy to a Champions League game in March, the look – which GQ described as “cool stoner” – went viral across fashion and football timelines.
Some speculated the look was the influence of his Gen Z daughter, others suggested he had hired a stylist.
Whatever the backstory, he has followed it up with elegant polo necks and pleated trousers that wouldn’t be out of place on the front row of the menswear shows.
Guardiola may be saying goodbye to the Premier League but football always needs style champions to show managers – and men - life beyond the quarter zip.