Guardiola ends speculation, extends contract with City until 2023

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

Pep Guardiola has prolonged his stay at Manchester City after signing a two-year contract extension with the club on Thursday.

The new deal will keep him at the club until the end of the 2022-23 season.

“Pep’s contract extension is the natural next step in a journey which has evolved over many years. It is a product of the mutual trust and respect that exists between him and the entire Club,” City chairman Khaldoon Mubarak said in a statement.

His current stay at City is the longest spell in charge of a single club since he began his managerial career in 2008.

He is in his fifth season at the club - longer than he stayed at Barcelona (four) and Bayern Munich (three) - and has won two Premier League titles, the last three English League Cup titles and the FA Cup once, although winning the club's first Champions League crown has proved elusive so far.

Guardiola has also been backed in the transfer market by City, which has spent about $480 million on defenders alone since his arrival in 2016.

"Ever since I arrived at Manchester City, I have been made to feel so welcome in the club and in the city itself - from the players, the staff, the supporters, the people of Manchester and the chairman and owner," he said.

"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 and I am humbled by the confidence the owner, chairman, Ferran (Soriano) and Txiki (Begiristain) have shown in me to continue for two more years after this season.

"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 matches in Guardiola's reign and set Premier League records en route to winning the 2017-18 Premier League title with 100 points.

They were champions again in 2019 but finished 18 points adrift of Liverpool last season.

Advancing past the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time since he took charge of City in 2016 is also a major goal for Guardiola, who last won Europe's elite club competition with Barcelona in 2011.

Guardiola may consider a move for Barcelona forward Lionel Messi in January after the Argentine, who is out of contract at the end of this term, asked to leave in frustration at the Spanish club's troubles in the close-season.