Hugo Viana Man City start date confirmed as Txiki Begiristain plan outlined

Hugo Viana will shadow Txiki Begiristain in the months before he officially replaces the Spaniard as Manchester City's new director of football.

City have confirmed Begiristain's departure at the end of this season and appointed 41-year-old Viana as his replacement. The Sporting director of football will officially take up his new role at the Etihad in the summer of 2025, but after agreeing a deal with the Portuguese club, Viana will be in place to work alongside Begiristain at times in the early months of the new year.

He will stay at Sporting until the end of the winter transfer window, but for the rest of the season will begin the transition to City, working alongside Begiristain in more of a part-time capacity to get an understanding for the club and the role. Viana is seen as a coup for City, having attracted the interest of other English clubs in recent years. He has helped guide Sporting to two league titles in four years, having won just one in the previous 20.

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Begiristain played a major part in the recruitment of Viana. The former Barcelona director of football had always planned to retire at 55 but stayed on for a further five years because of the successful position City were in. He told club bosses last year that he would definitely be calling it a day in the summer of 2025.

A club statement said: "Manchester City can confirm that Txiki Begiristain will step away from his full-time role as Director of Football at the end of the 2024/25 season.

"Following a trophy-laden twelve years at the Etihad Stadium, Txiki will leave his current post following the Club’s involvement in this summer’s FIFA Club World Cup and will be succeeded by Hugo Viana of Sporting CP.

"Viana will begin his full-time role in the summer of 2025, but will collaborate with Txiki in the preceding months to ensure a smooth transition. We look forward to paying tribute to Txiki’s outstanding contribution to Manchester City at the end of the season."

Begiristain is stepping down to focus on family after a glittering decade at the Etihad, building a squad that has swept all before it and working closely with Pep Guardiola. Viana's challenge will be to continue that success but he will also be tasked with seeing the transition from Guardiola, whether the Catalan decides to call it a day this summer as well or stays on for another year.