Manchester City defender Josko Gvardiol has admitted the squad had sensed Pep Guardiola's departure long before the legendary manager made it official, revealing the players "could feel" the end of an era was approaching.Guardiola brought the curtain down on his glittering 10-year spell at the Etihad at the end of last season, with former Chelsea and Leicester boss Enzo Maresca appointed as his successor."There had been speculation for a long time, but we could feel it," Gvardiol said.You want Pep's whistle? Say no more – splash KSh40,000 and it's yours"Some would say he could have told us earlier, some would say not. I think it was perfect timing because it could have affected you mentally if he had said it earlier."We knew at some point he had to tell us. He has been here for 10 years and it is time to rest a little bit and retire. We could feel it."The season before, he was in between, about to leave, then he stayed – great because it was another season to try to win something. Two seasons ago we struggled, 13 games without winning."Unfortunately it was time for him to go, but who knows with him, maybe after six months when he gets the energy back."##NAJAVA_MECA_9872202##The Croatian defender also backed Guardiola's replacement, insisting Maresca is the right man to lead Manchester City into a new chapter.The Italian, who previously guided Leicester City to the Championship title and later won the Club World Cup with Chelsea, has signed a three-year contract and took charge of City for the first time in Saturday's pre-season friendly against Inter Milan in Hong Kong."The level is that high and he has been chosen with reason as the manager," Gvardiol said."I think he has quality, has some new ideas and we need to see the style of football we are going to play and the tactics."I think he is the perfect one, but of course it takes time. It's something totally new. It's not easy to change the manager, so we will need time."It's our job to help him as much as possible, listen to him and adapt as quickly as possible."Maresca officially joins City, but there's a catch – and it's worth almost €20,000,000