Pep Guardiola explains contract decision as Man City confirm two-year extension

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Evening Standard

·21 November 2024

Pep Guardiola explains contract decision as Man City confirm two-year extension

Guardiola has agreed a two-year extension at the Etihad

The 53-year-old’s deal had been set to expire at the end of the season, raising the possibility that Guardiola’s ninth season in charge at City could be his last.

However, Guardiola has now put pen to paper on a two-year extension, committing his future through to the summer of 2027 and taking his time at the club beyond a decade.

Guardiola said: “I felt I could not leave now, simple as that,” he said in his City Studios interview after signing the new deal.

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“Don’t ask me the reason why. Maybe the four defeats were the reason why and I felt I cannot leave. I felt the club still want me or had the fact that we were together and that’s the reason why we sign.”

Guardiola led City to a record fourth straight Premier League title last season, a year on from the treble-winning campaign that brought a first Champions League trophy for the club.

Pep Guardiola has agreed to extend his time at Man City beyond a decade

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It has been a relatively slow start this season, though, with Guardiola losing four matches in a row for the first time as a manager. City sit second in the Premier League, five points off Liverpool.

“Firstly it’s because we won a lot otherwise you do not stay 11 years not even here in a place where I feel love,” Guardiola continued.

“Here is a business and you have to win and have a contract but I know if you don’t win maybe I would not continue. It’s just the feeling the moment now will feel it’s done, the club know it and that moment did not feel.

“I enjoy being here. I like my job. I like being the manager of this club.

“I said many times from many many years ago, the moment I will not have that feeling, even under contract, I will ring my chairman and CEO and say the best for the Club right now is I have to leave.

“I don’t have that feeling right now and that’s why I extended a little bit longer.”

Guardiola spent four seasons in charge at Barcelona, winning three LaLiga titles and the Champions League twice, before leading Bayern Munich to Bundesliga success in each of this three seasons in Germany.

This is now the fourth contract extension he has signed at City, having previously agreed a new deal in May 2018, November 2020 and November 2022.

City Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak said: “Like every City fan, I am delighted that Pep’s journey with Manchester City will continue; allowing his dedication, passion and innovative thinking to continue to shape the landscape of the game.

“His hunger for improvement and success remains insatiable and the direct beneficiaries of that will continue to be our players and coaching staff, the culture of our Club, and the English game at large.

“This renewal will take Pep beyond a decade of coaching Manchester City and the opportunity to continue to re-write the managerial record books.”