Agreement on new contract
©IMAGO
The crisis in results at Manchester City apparently has no negative impact on the collaboration with Pep Guardiola. Quite the opposite: According to the portal “The Athletic”, the Citizens and the star coach have agreed on a contract extension by one year until 2026. The agreement also includes an option for a further season.
An official announcement is expected in the coming days. “It will be a tough season – we knew that from the start. But that’s just the way it is. I like it, I love it, I want to face it and get my players involved and try it,” said Guardiola after the 4-1 defeat in the Champions League against Sporting Lisbon. More than ever, he wants to rebuild his team and bring it to the top level. The last four games were lost across all competitions.
“The reality is that I am closer to leaving than staying,” Guardiola said in May. It was to be expected that this led to speculation that his time at Manchester City would end when his contract expired in 2025. The Spaniard then corrected himself. A further extension seemed possible again. After the current season, Guardiola will have been at Man City for nine seasons. He would not stay another eight years, he emphasized to reporters during the summer preparations. That’s why he said he was closer to saying goodbye than staying. It might not have been right to say that, said the trainer. But he had already asserted: “I didn’t say I was leaving.”
The 53-year-old has already been in office at City longer than any other coach in more than half a century. Under his leadership, the club won the championship six times, the FA Cup twice and the Champions League in 2023. Guardiola previously coached FC Bayern (2013 to 2016) and FC Barcelona (2008 to 2012). The departure of manager Txiki Begiristain at the end of the season, announced in October, had fueled speculation that Guardiola was coming to an end. Guardiola and City are currently in second place in the Premier League, five points behind rivals Liverpool.
