Manchester City have enjoyed a very successful period with Pep Guardiola as their manager.
Back in 2016, Guardiola was appointed as City’s manager after two very successful spells in charge of Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
Since then, the Catalan has overlooked 490 matches across all competitions in total, winning 360, drawing 60 and losing 70 along the way.
Throughout his eight years at the Etihad Stadium, Guardiola has guided his side to multiple domestic and European trophies, breaking a multitude of trophies in doing so in the process.
With the Blues set to resume their 2024/25 campaign this weekend and take a step closer to potentially winning a fifth consecutive Premier League title, a pundit and former top-flight player has shared some insight into the reaction a big claim that has recently emerged about Guardiola will have caused.
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Danny Murphy discusses club reactions to Pep Guardiola news
Following Tuesday night’s report from The Athletic that Guardiola has agreed to sign a one-year contract extension at City which has the option for an extra year, Danny Murphy gave this answer when asked on talkSPORT what the reaction to this news would be from other top-flight clubs.
He said: “Well, from a footballing perspective, you’d say for the rest it’s bad news. You wouldn’t think anybody else out there could come in and maintain the levels he seems to be able to produce season in and season out.
“So everyone else probably took a big sigh when they heard that this morning or last night whenever it came out and thought, oh it’s going to carry on.
“The reality is, it’s irrelevant in many ways if they do get found guilty of these charges because that could change everything.
“But let’s put that aside for a second, if they’re innocent and he carries on and they carry on, he’s the best man for the job for them, isn’t he?
“And also it’s that boost it gives them now I think it gives them a little boost. Everyone, the fans will be a bit more up for it. The players will be a little bit more settled, everything like that.
“From a football-loving person, watching his variations and his problem-solving and his resilience with the way he brings his team back from being written off if they’re having a bad spell and every time the second half of the seasons they push on.
“I don’t know how he maintains the level of hunger and intensity in the team that’s so successful. That’s the key to his success.”
City’s rivals should feel deflated about Guardiola’s reported extension
Bearing in mind how successful and dominant City have been since Guardiola’s arrival – especially in the Premier League – it’s understandable why Murphy thinks managers, players and fans of other top clubs in the division will feel deflated by the prospect of seeing the 53-year-old extend his contract.
| Matches | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals Scored | Goals Conceded | Trophies |
| 490 | 360 | 60 | 70 | 1239 | 446 | 15 |
Despite that, some top-flight managers have shared some big praise for the City boss previously.
For instance, Thomas Frank discussed Guardiola back in October while the speculation surrounding his City future was still up in the air, saying this about the Catalan’s tenure in England.
He said: “Pep has done everything he can over here. Incredible how he keeps the hunger and keeps going.”
From City’s point of view, it would be a massive positive for everyone at the club to see Guardiola continue his journey with the Blues beyond this season.
