Pep Guardiola admits he is ‘closer to leaving’ Manchester City after latest Premier League title
Pep Guardiola celebrated a fourth consecutive Premier League title (Getty Images)
Pep Guardiola insisted he will find the motivation to target new achievements and hinted he will extend his contract at Manchester City after becoming the first team to win four consecutive English titles.
The Catalan has one year left on his contract, which was signed in 2022, and suggested he might be willing to discuss an extended deal to stay at the Etihad Stadium.
Guardiola hailed a sixth title in seven seasons as an “crazy” achievement that he would never have thought possible when he arrived after a 3-1 win over West Ham made City champions again.
He stayed at Barcelona for four years and Bayern Munich for three and while he admitted he is fatigued at times, he is still galvanised by the chance to make history. City could become the first team in English football history to win back-to-back doubles next week when they face Manchester United in the FA Cup final and while he believed he had won all there was to win last year, he then found new targets.
And he said: “I had that season last year after [the Champions League final in] Istanbul, I said: ‘It’s over, there’s nothing left.’ But I have a contract, I’m still here. Some of the moments I’m a bit tired but some of the moments I love and we are here winning games, looking good with new players. I start to think about no-one has done four in a row, why don’t we try? And now I feel it’s done, so what next? FA Cup. Gary Lineker told me that no team has done back-to-back Premier Leagues and FA Cups.
“Right now, I don’t know what exactly the motivation is to do it because it’s difficult to find it when everything is done. But knowing the players and myself I know that when we are there, we will say ‘why should we not win today? Why should we not work as much as possible to do what we have to do?’ And I know we are going to do it.”
Guardiola said he is nearer to the end of his reign than the start, explaining: “The reality is I am closer to leaving than staying. We have talked with the club – my feeling is that I want to stay now. I will stay next season and during the season we will talk. But eight or nine years – we will see. I didn’t expect to stay eight or nine years. I expected three, four or five but not much. I cannot believe it. It’s the Premier League. It’s the toughest one.”
Guardiola declared it is the age of City now. While he argued Liverpool fans of a certain vintage will always deem Bob Paisley and Bill Shankly’s teams the greatest ever and Manchester United supporters will always think Sir Alex Ferguson’s sides were, he said: “In terms of numbers, nobody has been better than us - the records, the goals, the points and four in a row. If I land here tomorrow and you say I will win six Premier Leagues in seven years, I would say, ‘Are you crazy? It’s impossible.’ We have done something unbelievable. Six Premier Leagues in seven years, in this country with the modern football and the teams and everything. Now is our period.”
Guardiola expects Mikel Arteta and Arsenal to challenge again next season. He added: “Before was Liverpool to push our limits and now is Arsenal, I want to congratulate them from the bottom of my heart. We got the message from Mikel and his players because they are here to stay. He is young.”
Jurgen Klopp, the one manager to interrupt City’s run of six Premier League wins in seven years, said Guardiola is the only manager who could could win four in a row, even with the resources City enjoy.
And the Catalan paid tribute to his rival, adding: “I will miss him a lot. Jurgen has been a really important part of my life. He brought me to another level as a manager. We respect each other incredibly. He help me many times. I wish him all the best and hopefully his final game was special for him. Jurgen with Liverpool he will be on the level with Shankly and Paisley.”
Captain Kyle Walker said City were driven on by the chance to make history. He said: “I think so, I think so. We went out of the Champions League, got into the FA Cup final, but to do this, make it four in a row, it made it something special. He made Liverpool recognised with his stamp, and the incredible pride of being a Liverpool fan. It’s not just about titles, there are personalities that when they arrive in one place they stay forever and Jurgen and Liverpool will be part of the level of [Bill] Shankly and [Bob] Paisley and these incredible legends.”
“The last few years have been very special for everyone at Manchester City but to have captained this club to a fourth straight Premier League title is something I will cherish forever. The Premier League is the benchmark by which everyone is measured. It’s rightly renowned as the hardest and most competitive league in the world so to win four in a row, especially after last season’s treble success, illustrates what we have collectively managed to achieve.”