Mohamed Salah and Pep Guardiola are two big names in Premier League history. How Liverpool and Manchester City manage without them will shape their seasons.
For the first time since 2016, Liverpool begins a season without Salah as their star player. City also has to move on without Guardiola's coaching skills after a successful ten years.
Salah joined Turkish club Trabzonspor in August. This move ends an amazing chapter with Liverpool for one of their greatest players.
Guardiola stepped down at the end of last season. This marks the end of the most successful time in City's history.
Now both Liverpool and City are starting fresh without these icons as the Premier League season kicks off.
City will play Bournemouth on Sunday. This will be Enzo Maresca’s first league game as Guardiola’s replacement.
A few hours later, Liverpool’s new manager Andoni Iraola will lead a squad missing Salah for their match against Newcastle.
The uncertainty for both City and Liverpool this season is not just about losing Guardiola and Salah. It also reflects the struggles they faced before saying goodbye in May.
Guardiola won six Premier League titles and the club’s first Champions League trophy among 20 other trophies since taking charge in 2016.
In his last season, the 55-year-old won both the FA Cup and League Cup. But he left City after failing to win the title in his last two years.
Guardiola shared that he found it hard to keep the energy needed to fight against Arsenal last season. The Gunners finished seven points ahead and took the title.
The exit of his close friend and director of football Txiki Begiristain in 2025 made Guardiola say, "a part of me is leaving."
City is also dealing with Football Association charges about alleged financial issues. This ongoing situation added to Guardiola's pressure.
He felt he needed to stay loyal to the club but looked tired from trying to rebuild a team that needed new players. Key players like Kevin De Bruyne, Ederson, Kyle Walker, and Riyad Mahrez have left in recent years.
Maresca now faces a tough job following Guardiola. The Italian knows City well, having worked as Guardiola’s assistant during their treble-winning 2022-23 season.
But Maresca lacks significant managerial experience. He spent less than two seasons at Chelsea, a year in the second tier with Leicester, and a brief time at Parma.
His experience is not close to Guardiola’s successful time at Barcelona and Bayern Munich before moving to Manchester.
Meanwhile, Liverpool is also starting a new chapter without Salah.
When Salah joined Liverpool from Roma for £36 million in 2017, not many expected the success he would bring.
After struggling at Chelsea, Salah quickly became a star at Liverpool.
He scored 257 goals in 442 games for Liverpool, making him the third highest scorer in the club’s history. He had many unforgettable moments while winning two Premier League titles, a Champions League, and both the FA Cup and League Cup.
But the end of Salah’s time at Liverpool was not pretty.
He faced being benched several times by Arne Slot last season and accused the club of throwing him "under the bus."
Salah’s issues with Slot were never fully resolved, and he only scored seven league goals as Liverpool finished fifth before Slot was sacked.
Replacing a player like Salah will need more than just one person.
Iraola will be hoping that Sweden striker Alexander Isak performs better after a tough first season at Anfield. New signing Victor Munoz and young player Rio Ngumoha also carry high hopes.
But no matter how hard they try, neither Liverpool nor City will ever be the same without their legendary players.
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