Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is now in his ninth season in charge of the club.
Having been at the Etihad Stadium since 2016, the Catalan has spent longer in charge of City than he had with Barcelona and Bayern Munich combined.
Earlier this month, David Ornstein reported that Txiki Begiristain will be leaving City in the summer, bringing an end to what will be a 13-year spell as the club’s sporting director.
It has more recently been reported that City have agreed a deal to see Hugo Viana replace Begiristain in 2025 following the end of his time with the Citizens.
With Guardiola’s contract set to expire in June, there remains uncertainty about his future with City.
Now though, some behind-the-scenes details have come to light regarding the club’s stance on the current situation.
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Man City want answer on Pep Guardiola’s future before 2025
A recent report from ESPN said this on the matter.
It said: “Sources have told ESPN that City want Guardiola to stay and would like an indication about his plans for the future before the new year.”
What has been said about Guardiola’s future at City?
Speaking to Manchester City News, GRV Media’s transfer expert Graeme Bailey said this on the subject of Guardiola’s future at the club.
He said: “We’re hearing lots, we’ll find out by Christmas time we should know whether he’s signed or not but it wouldn’t surprise me if it goes up until Easter.
“I think the good thing for City fans is that he’s embracing this competitiveness that Liverpool and Arsenal are bringing to the table.
“I think that really helps City’s quest to keep him. It’s keeping him interested, he’s got something to really battle with and to have that chess game with someone.
“I think if he does stay that’ll be the reason why, he loves pitting his wits with [Mikel] Arteta as we’ve seen.
“I think Liverpool we’ll really gauge over the next six weeks I think they’ve got a hard run of games coming, is this team as good as people think they are? And if they are, that three-way battle for the title might be enough to keep Pep interested.”
Having taken charge of 483 matches with the Blues, the Catalan has seen his side win 357, draw 60 and lose 66.
As well as that, Enzo Maresca named Guardiola the best manager in Premier League history back in September, even ranking him above former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson.
Bearing in mind the plethora of trophies Guardiola has guided the Manchester club to since his arrival and the records he and his side have broken in doing so, it’d be safe to assume that every City supporter would be over the moon if he did put pen to paper on a contract extension.
