Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has agreed a new one-year contract extension with the option of an additional year.
The 53-year-old’s existing City deal was due to expire at the end of this season and, if the new terms are fulfilled, it would take Guardiola to over a decade in charge of the club.
An official announcement confirming the new contract is expected in the coming days.
The Athletic has contacted City for comment.
It had been suggested that Guardiola may leave City at the end of the campaign alongside director of football Txiki Begiristain, whose departure — and the arrival of Hugo Viana from Sporting CP as his replacement — was confirmed in October.
Guardiola was appointed at the Etihad Stadium in 2016 following spells in charge of Barcelona and Bayern Munich, winning 18 trophies during his time with the Manchester club including six Premier League titles and the club’s first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023.
He spent four years in charge of Barcelona and three seasons at Bayern, with this his ninth season at the helm of City.
City are currently second in the Premier League table with 23 points from their opening 11 matches — five points behind league leaders Liverpool — but have lost four games in a row across all competitions, the worst run of defeats in Guardiola’s time at the club.
“It is a tough challenge, but I am here,” Guardiola said after the third of those losses, the 4-1 defeat at Sporting in the Champions League. “It will be a tough season — we knew that from the start. But this is what it is. I like it, I love it, I want to face it and lift my players and try it.”
Guardiola was also asked in that post-match press conference about links to the Brazil national team, to which he jokingly replied: “After a 4-1 defeat, I’m no longer an option”, before adding that “more than ever, I want to lift up the team and return them to their top level.”
City return to action at home to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.
‘Pep is as locked in as ever’
Analysis
This changes the narrative around City quite significantly. Although the news does not necessarily mean an immediate fix to their recent poor form, considering the injury situation they have, this is obviously the news that the club wanted and it signals that Guardiola is, nine years down the line, as locked in as ever.
The immediate focus will be on getting the team back to winning ways and, beyond that, solidifying their performances, but the news of Guardiola’s new deal, especially the potential for not just a 10th but an 11th year in charge, suggests that there is one big squad rebuild left to come before he finally bows out — if that ever happens.
City could enter the market in January to strengthen their midfield in the absence of Rodri and then, beyond that, there are some senior players who could be moved on in the summer, and with Guardiola still at the helm there will be confidence that City can get in some top names and strengthen for the future.
With director of football Txiki Begiristain departing at the end of the season, to be replaced by Hugo Viana, Guardiola’s renewal will help to steady the ship at a time when there will be an inevitable period of change. But, crucially, nowhere near as much as there could have been.
(Photo by Chloe Knott – Danehouse/Getty Images)
Read the full article here