Manchester City have confirmed Pablo Zabaleta will leave the club at the end of the season when his contract expires.
Zabaleta is one of several City players that have entered the final few weeks of their current deals but Guardiola has opted against extending the stay of the 32-year-old.
The Argentina international has been one of the club’s greatest servants during the Sheikh Mansour regime and the right-back is now expected to complete a switch to West Ham on a free.
“Pablo Zabaleta will leave City at the end of the season, bringing the curtain down on an incredible nine-year association with the Blues,” a statement read on City’s official website.
Zabaleta has been a pillar of consistency for City since joining from Espanyol in 2008 and spent the majority of that time as one of the best right-backs in the Premier League.
However, his performances have dipped in the last few years and it’s unreasonable to expect the veteran defender to carry out the sort of energetic displays expected from full-backs by Guardiola.
Zabaleta has only started 11 league games this season under Guardiola but will be a great pick up for a West Ham side that haven’t had a regular right-back for several years now. Since August 2009, Zabaleta has completed more tackles than any other City player in the Premier League (677).
For more stats on Pablo Zabaleta, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
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