Pep Guardiola has reportedly signed a new contract with Manchester City.
Guardiola, 53, has enjoyed an impressive career with City since arriving in 2016, winning the Premier League in six of his eight full seasons.
The Spaniard, who previously coached Barcelona and Bayern Munich, also lifted the Champions League in 2023 and has won 18 titles in total.
There had been much speculation about his future, with Guardiola’s contract set to expire at the end of the 2024-25 campaign.
However, according to The AthleticGuardiola has put an end to the rumors by signing a new one-year contract with the option of a second year.
The report adds that the 53-year-old’s extension will be confirmed in the coming days.
Pep Guardiola would have signed a new one-year contract with Manchester City
The news comes during what has arguably been the most difficult time for Guardiola during his decorated tenure at the Etihad, as City have lost their last four games, the worst run of the Spaniard’s time at the club.
Many thought Guardiola would leave City at the end of the campaign along with director of football Txiki Begiristain, who is a close friend and someone who brought him to the club eight years ago.
Guardiola had admitted that “a part of me is leaving” when questioned on the Begiristain news last month, but at the time there was a feeling that he was not yet ready to close the door on staying either.
Guardiola is known for leaving contract negotiations late, as his previous contract was signed in November 2022, just over six months before it was due to expire, and this new deal follows the same pattern.
In fact, Guardiola signed that agreement on November 19, and this contract was signed two years later on the same day.
Speaking recently after the third defeat of four in the recent run, Guardiola refuted suggestions that he was no longer up to the challenge despite the difficult run his team is in.
“It’s a difficult challenge, but I’m here,” Guardiola said. “It will be a tough season, we knew it from the beginning. But this is what it is. “I like it, I love it, I want to face it, lift my players up and try it.”
He later added: ‘M“More than ever I want to lift the team up and return it to its highest level.”
With Guardiola’s contract entering its final months, he was linked with the England job before Thomas Tuchel was appointed, with Mail Sport reporting at the time how the Spaniard was seen as the FA’s dream candidate to be manager of the Three Lions for the 2026 World Cup.
However, he will now stay at City, as Guardiola’s future has been a topic of discussion in press conferences in recent months.
In October, Guardiola had insisted that City had not pressured him to decide his future.
“I want to be really convinced that it is the best for the club,” he said. “I will not delay an action knowing that I am creating a problem for the club.
‘If I feel there is a problem at this time, I will make a decision as quickly as possible. But I don’t have that feeling because they understand the reasons I have.’
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