Pep Guardiola eases Manchester City exit fears by agreeing to STAY with contract extension

Pep Guardiola remains as Manchester City manager, talkSPORT understands.

The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach has agreed a new one-year renewable contract to extend his stay at the Etihad Stadium until at least the end of next season.

Guardiola's current contract was due to expire next summer, so there were doubts over whether or not this would be his last campaign in charge.

However, they now appear to have been overturned as he agreed to terms of a new deal.

The option for one more year means that it would reach a decade in City Should I stay as manager for that long?

It is understood that the agreement was reached during the current international break and Guardiola informed the club that he would stay in October.

last month, Guardiola stated 'A part of me is leaving' after it emerged that sporting director Txiki Begiristain will leave the club.

Speculation over whether or not his time at the Etihad Stadium would end only increased as a result, but this will now end.

Reacting to the news, former Manchester City defender Danny Mills said on talkSPORT: “This is very important because I've said it before on this show and several others. “I think a bit of uncertainty creeps up on the players.

“They're not quite sure if he'll stay, they're not quite sure if another manager will look for them at the end of the season if they come in and sometimes that bit of discord can mean you lose 5 per cent.” hundred, you know, and I think that's what happened to Manchester City.

“You know, teams will argue. We saw it the first time when Sir Alex Ferguson said he was going to retire. They fell massively. I know the second time he managed to cross the line.

“With Jurgen Klopp and a Liverpool fan he texted us, rang the other week and said, ‘Oh, Liverpool were five points clear and finished nine points behind City after Klopp decided he was leaving.

3

“It has an effect, you know, just like that if your manager says he's going to leave at the end of the season.

“They've only lost two Premier League games recently. Obviously others have been, you know, in the Cup and the Champions League, so the league is still there for them.

“I think now this might be the little stimulus they need to get their mojo back and get back into the mold, you know, start winning games and challenge to try to win that fifth game in a row.”

The Spaniard joined City in the summer of 2016 after brilliant spells at Barcelona and Bayern, winning six league titles between the two clubs.

Guardiola led the club to third place in his first season in the Premier League, but then won back-to-back titles in 2018 and 2019.

City lost pace in the 2019/20 campaign when rivals Liverpool were crowned champions, but this only inspired a meteoric comeback.

3

They have won the Premier League title for the last four seasons in a row, being the first club to do so in the English top flight.

In addition to that league dominance, City won their first Champions League title under Guardiola in 2023, his third European triumph as a manager.

They also lifted the FA Cup twice and the Carabao Cup four times with the 53-year-old in his eight full seasons.

This was followed by success in the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup, meaning City have won every major trophy possible.

Guardiola has won 360 of his 490 total games in charge across all competitions, and his teams have scored a whopping 1,239 goals.

City currently sit second in the Premier League table and are five points behind leaders Liverpool, but the latest news could inspire them to claim an incredible seventh title under Guardiola.