While the end of the season in the EFL has been dominated by constant talk of Spygate and Southampton's skulduggery in the playoffs, in the Premier League, there have also been some major developments.
Indeed, Pep Guardiola has now stepped down as Manchester City's illustrious manager, after 593 games at the helm has seen him lift an astonishing six Premier League titles in total.
All good things must come to an end, though, with the Spaniard's emotional farewell occurring on the final day versus Aston Villa at the Etihad.
Southampton had a minor part to play in Guardiola's swansong season, as Finn Azaz very nearly shocked City at Wembley in the FA Cup semi-final back in April, only for the eventual FA Cup winners to reign supreme 2-1.
Guardiola has even chimed in with his own thoughts on Spygate, when asked about the Saints' frowned upon use of the dark arts, leading into his final City showdown versus Villa.
Guardiola's thoughts on Spygate
Having been manager of the Manchester giants when the original Spygate saga occurred with Marcelo Bielsa at Leeds United, this isn't an unusual topic for Guardiola to address.
Indeed, in 2019, he said that "everybody" does it when quizzed on Bielsa's use of prying, and he offered up much the same response when questioned this time about Tonda Eckert's own spying, six years on from the passionate Argentine making front page news.
#SaintsFC | Pep Guardiola on the practice of spying after Leeds’ Spygate in 2019:
— SaintsExtra (@SaintsExtra) May 25, 2026
“It is more difficult [in England]. It is private. But in all the countries I have been before, everybody does it. When we were training at Bayern Munich there were people in the little mountains… pic.twitter.com/Rnt2cg7zMI
He said: “It is more difficult [in England]. It is private. But in all the countries I have been before, everybody does it. When we were training at Bayern Munich there were people in the little mountains with cameras and the opponent was watching what we did. Everybody did it. It is the culture of the clubs.”
There does seem to be a cultural gulf, as Guardiola states, with German football unlikely to clutch to their pearls, in much the same way the English game has.
This is the main excuse Eckert has used when trying to justify his underhanded methods, as one of the sport's most decorated managers sides slightly with the much-talked-about 33-year-old.
There is a big cultural difference
Indeed, Eckert, when questioned on his team's spying, tried to justify it all by saying that it's a common practice all over Europe.
Guardiola agrees, as he saw first-hand, the lengths clubs will go to to gain some last-minute information, when managing Bayern Munich in Eckert's native Germany.
However, irrespective of cultural differences or not, the 33-year-old should have realised that spying on English shores has its consequences, with Bielsa's Leeds fined back in 2019 when admitting to their own secretive intelligence gathering.
It remains to be seen whether the Berlin-born manager will be dismissed or not, with radio silence coming out of Southampton at the moment in terms of statements or anything.
What's for certain, though, is that Guardiola will not be at the helm of City heading into the next campaign, as they await their own punishment down the line for alleged financial violations in the Premier League.
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