‘Right solution’ - Man City chief delivers update on Pep Guardiola’s future

Pep Guardiola and Manchester City will come to a decision ‘together’ regarding the manager’s future, claimed chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak.

The 48-year-old has conducted his annual end-of-season review, in an interview that took place last weekend. During the wide-ranging Q&A, Al Mubarak called for the Premier League to implement changes to its spending regulations, while he also discussed the record-breaking fourth consecutive title and the club’s involvement in the expanded Club World Cup next year.

That competition could well be Guardiola’s last act as City boss, if reports are to be believed. The Daily Mail last month claimed that the former Barcelona manager is set to walk away in 12 months’ time and bring his nine-year stint in Manchester to a close.

Guardiola’s contract expires in the summer of 2025 and, if he is to stay, will need to agree a new deal during the upcoming season. It’s a familiar situation for both the club and manager, with the Catalan twice signing extensions during his time at the Etihad.

“We have had this conversation many times before, you know that, over the years of the contract,” explained Al Mubarak. “Pep has always been fully committed to this club, fully committed to every contract that he has signed with us.

“This decision on his future is always a decision that we will take together, and I have no doubt that we will find, as always, we have done, the right solution that works for Pep and works for us.”

Guardiola this season became the first manager in the history of English football to win four consecutive top-flight titles. Al Mubarak feels the numerous records set by the City manager will be hard to break in years to come, but added he and the club are targeting five in a row next season.

“It’s hard to put into words what Pep has given this organisation, this club,” he said. “You can look at just records, for history’s sake and there I think he’s racked up every record, almost, in the book. And these are records that I think will be very, very hard in the future to ever break. 

“From winning six out of the last seven Premier Leagues, to winning four in a row, to the number of wins, the records go on and on and on. I think what his impact has been on football. English football has changed with the evolution to the type of football that Pep has brought into the league.

“Since 1926, five teams have attempted to win four times in a row,” he added. “Five teams. Huddersfield, Arsenal, Liverpool in the ‘80s and then Manchester United, who attempted it twice. None of them succeeded. 

“In over 100 years of English football, never has any team been able to achieve four championships in a row. So, once that sinks in you start really appreciating the magnitude of what was achieved. The difficulty, the challenge, the tenacity required.

“I would say that if you asked this question to anyone, they would give probably the same answer. Players, executives, physios, board. Whoever you ask, they will answer the same thing. 

“And that five in a row happened the second that final whistle went against West Ham. I remember just going down to the pitch and just telling almost everybody that I saw, ‘Excellent. Fantastic result. We’re so proud. But now we’re going for five in a row’.”