Guardiola ends speculation with two-year deal
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Pep Guardiola's new contract has hushed talk on him returning to Spain, but will bolster rumours on Lionel Messi moving to City.
LONDON • Pep Guardiola revealed he has everything he needs to improve his Manchester City side after signing a two-year contract extension yesterday.
The Spaniard, 49, had seven months left on his previous deal and it had been suggested he might leave City. Upheaval at his old club Barcelona saw him linked with a return to the Nou Camp, but he has agreed to stay at City until 2023.
Guardiola, also a former coach at Bayern Munich, is midway through his fifth campaign at the Etihad and his new deal will extend what is already his longest stay at any club.
"Ever since I arrived at Manchester City I have been made to feel so welcome in the club and in the city itself," Guardiola said. "Since then we have achieved a great deal together, scored goals, won games and trophies, and we are all very proud of that success.
"Having that kind of support is the best thing any manager can have. I have everything I could possibly want to do my job well...
"The challenge for us is to continue improving and evolving and I am very excited about helping Manchester City do that."
City have won 181 of 245 games under Guardiola - a 73.9 per cent win rate. He has delivered two Premier League titles, three League Cups and one FA Cup, setting several scoring and points records. But winning the club's first Champions League remains the objective. Guardiola won Europe's elite club competition twice with Barcelona but failed to reach a final in three years at Bayern.
His new deal will also heighten speculation of Guardiola reuniting with Barcelona's Lionel Messi. The forward will have just six months left on his contract in the New Year and is free to negotiate a free transfer with foreign clubs. But City, hampered by injuries to strikers Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus this season, are reportedly eyeing a January swoop for the 33-year-old.
City, who travel to Tottenham for tomorrow's Premier League clash, are in 10th place, six points behind leaders Leicester with a game in hand.
City chairman Khaldoon Mubarak highlighted that Guardiola's extension is a sign the club are heading in the right direction.
"It is a product of the mutual trust and respect that exists between him and the entire club," he said. "Importantly, it is a validation of the football structure and philosophy that has been built over more than a decade and to which he has contributed so much."
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE