Ranking Guardiola's 18 seasons at Barcelona, Bayern, Man City

Soccer's worst-kept secret finally came out at the end of last week: Pep Guardiola's reign as Manchester City's manager was coming to an end after nearly 10 brilliant years. But any hopes that this announcement would spur City to one last Premier League title push were quickly quashed when City drew with Bournemouth, allowing Arsenal to clinch the title.

After 21 trophies in 10 seasons, however, one more might have seemed superfluous. Guardiola is the Premier League's second-most successful manager behind only Sir Alex Ferguson, and his influence on the game surpasses even his successes.

Guardiola is the rarest of sports figures. He defined an entire era of the game, but he was obsessed with figuring out where the game would head next. His positional, heavy-possession style became the default template for basically every rich club in Europe -- including the three he coached, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Man City -- but as the game adapted to his innovation, he was fervent in adapting to the adaptations. As disciplined as he required his players to be in their assignments, by the end of his time in Manchester, he had acquired maybe the deepest set of dribblers and one-vs.-one maestros in Europe.

He was guilty of overthinking at times, and it probably cost him a Champions League title or two. (Real Madrid and the away goals rule also probably cost him a few.) But most of sport's famous system-builders failed to expand beyond their system. Guardiola could seemingly think of nothing but that expansion.

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Guardiola's legacy will be impacted to some degree by any eventual decision on City's 115 charges of financial misconduct -- at this point, it's fair to wonder if a decision will ever come -- but he was already an all-time great when he arrived in Manchester, and his overall impact on the game is untouchable.

Obviously, this isn't the end. At only 55 years old, Guardiola could easily have at least a couple of stops left in his career if he chooses. But while we wait to find out how his next act will unfold -- and how likely successor Enzo Maresca will fare in his shadow -- let's reflect. The best way to think about the effects of someone's career is to walk back through it, and the most fun way to do that is by ranking something.

So here are Guardiola's 18 managerial seasons to date, ranked.