Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is now in the middle of his ninth season in charge of the Blues.
Having been at the Etihad Stadium since 2016, the Catalan has now been in charge of City for longer than he was with Barcelona and Bayern Munich combined.
With 490 matches under his belt with the Citizens across all competitions, Guardiola has seen his side win 360, draw 60 and lose 70 along the way, lifting multiple domestic and European trophies in the process.
As things stand, the 53-year-old’s contract is set to expire in June. However, a recent report from The Athletic has claimed that Guardiola has agreed a one-year extension with the option of another year added on.
While there are a plethora of reasons as to why the prolific manager may have ultimately decided to continue his journey with the Citizens, one reason could be to do with some of City’s rival clubs and their current situations.
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Man City’s rival managers could have impacted Pep Guardiola’s contract decision
Specifically, the current mix of sides and managers aiming to knock City off their perch and take their Premier League crown could be invigorating to Guardiola.
Previous years have seen Guardiola rival Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool and more recently Mikel Arteta – his former assistant coach at City – with Arsenal for the league titles.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 1 |  LiverpoolLiverpool | 11 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 21 | 6 | 15 | 28 |
| 2 |  Man CityManchester City | 11 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 22 | 13 | 9 | 23 |
| 3 |  ChelseaChelsea | 11 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 21 | 13 | 8 | 19 |
| 4 |  ArsenalArsenal | 11 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 18 | 12 | 6 | 19 |
| 5 |  Nottm ForestNottingham Forest | 11 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 19 |
Now that Arne Slot has hit the ground running at Anfield following Klopp’s departure, it seems likely that Liverpool will be in the race to win the title over the coming months.
Even though Arsenal have had a shaky recent few weeks, Arteta has shown he can get his side close to the finish line, which could still be the case this time around.
In addition to those two, another Guardiola disciple – Enzo Maresca – looks to be getting his Chelsea side in the right sort of shape to potentially be considered as title contenders.
City fans will be delighted if Guardiola is motivated by fresh competition
Back in June, Jose Mourinho claimed Guardiola “laughs” at other clubs in the top six and the “mess” they’ve made for themselves in recent years.
However, the likes of Slot, Arteta and Maresca have shown how this season’s Premier League title race could be a very tight one and how City may not come out of it with their usual ending of being crowned champions.
More recently, Danny Murphy discussed how City’s rivals may have reacted to the news of Guardiola’s contract extension, saying this on the matter.
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.
Either way, if the Manchester club do end up officially announcing that Guardiola has signed a contract extension, many City supporters will likely be too delighted to be concerned with what his potential motivations are for doing so.
