Pep Guardiola signed a two-year contract extension at Manchester City as he didn’t want the speculation around his future beginning again in 12 months’ time.
City confirmed Guardiola’s new deal last night and, while that wasn’t a surprise, the fact he agreed to stay for two years rather than the expected one did raise eyebrows.
He is now committed to City until June 2027 and says he hopes that now gives stability to everyone connected with the club.
He said: “I don’t want next season in September, October, November, ‘it’s the last year of Pep’. I don’t want to be in that position.
“I would like to stay for two years but I know if the results are not good it will not be two years.”
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Here whatever the outcome of independent hearing
Guardiola also reiterated he would not walk away if the club were found guilty of breaching the Premier League’s financial guidelines.
“I said six months ago, when all the clubs accused us of having done something wrong, what happened if we are relegated – I will be here,” he said.
“Next year, if we are in the Conference we will come up to the Premier League. I knew it then, I feel it now.”
Guardiola’s extension comes as he is mired in the worst run of his illustrious coaching career with City having lost their last four games in all competitions.
PEP 💬 (On injury updates) John [Stones] trained good, Manu [Akanji] trained good. Nathan [Ake] is coming back to training so we didn’t have any centre-backs, and now we have three. Ruben [Dias] is out but hopefully back soon. pic.twitter.com/rIq0uPW5fu
— Manchester City (@ManCity) November 22, 2024
Duo set to return but City suffer Kovacic blow
The squad has been depleted by injuries of late and there was mixed news on that front ahead of tomorrow’s teatime clash with Tottenham at the Etihad.
John Stones and Manuel Akanji have returned to training but Mateo Kovacic has been ruled out for up to a month with an injury sustained on international duty with Croatia.
Asked about the four-match winless run, Guardiola said: “When you are here eight or nine years, you live all the scenarios and situations. You are able to lose four games in a row. At the same time, you are able to win four Premier Leagues in a row.
“The difference is most teams are able to lose four in a row in different competitions but just one team won four Premier Leagues in a row.”
Rodri returns
Tomorrow will see injured midfielder Rodri show off his Ballon d’Or trophy to the City fans and Guardiola said his recovery from knee surgery is going well.
He added: ”It’s nice to see Rodri back. He had surgery in Madrid and it’s normal to be with his family for the first steps. In January, he will come back here to make the recovery.
“From what I hear from the doctor, it’s going really, really well. His mood is good and it’s unique in our club to get this amazing award. I’m looking forward to seeing him.”
