Guardiola: ‘Why I want to stay on as Man City coach for two more seasons’
Pep Guardiola confessed this season (2024/25) would have been his last as manager of Manchester City but events of the last month, the unprecedented four defeats in a row meant he needed to stay and get the Cityzens back on the winning track they have grown used to since his arrival in July 2016.
‘So honestly, I think myself, my staff and friends, I think we deserve to be here. I am sorry to say. I am not arrogant to say, but it’s the truth. I think we deserve after four defeats in a row to bounce back and try to turn the situation.
‘In that moment, in the period, I had the feeling you have to take the right decisions for the future, and I want to take it. Since the beginning of the season, I’ve been thinking a lot. I want to be honest; I thought this [season] should be the last one.
‘But the problems we had in the last month, I felt now was not the right time to leave. I didn’t want to let the club down. I felt I could not leave now, simple as that. Don’t ask me the reason why.
‘Maybe the four defeats were the reason why I felt I cannot leave. Manchester City means so much to me. This is my ninth season here – we have experienced so many amazing times together.
‘I have a really special feeling for this football club. That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons,’ Guardiola said via a video announcement.
Guardiola has so far won 18 major trophies, including six Premier League titles and one UEFA Champions League.
By winning the Premier League title last season, City became the first men’s team in the history of English football to win four top-flight titles in a row.
Last season, the Catalan led the Cityzens to a magnificent treble of Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup in what was the greatest season in the club’s 130-year history.
He is also the first man in Premier League history to manage 100 points in a single season (2017/18) and the first in English football to win all four domestic trophies (2018/19).
Guardiola’s trophy record
Barcelona: (2008-12)
La Liga (3), Copa del Rey (2), Spanish Super Cup (3), Champions League (2), Super Cup (2), Club World Cup (2)
Total: 14
Bayern Munich: (2013-16)
Bundesliga (3), DFB-Pokal (2), UEFA Super Cup (1), FIFA Club World Cup (1)
Total: 7
Manchester City: (2016-present)
Premier League (6), UEFA Champions League (1), FA Cup (2), League Cup (4), FIFA Club World Cup (1), UEFA Super Cup (1), Community Shield (3)
Total (to date): 18
