Pep Guardiola has agreed to extend his contract with Man City for another year, with an option to extend it for another year. The Spanish tactician's current contract with the Etihad Stadium team runs until the summer of 2025. Over the past few months, Pep's future has been the subject of much discussion because after the numerous glories he has brought to Man City, a farewell at this time would be more perfect than ever to close the most glorious era in the club's history.
However, Pep has decided to stay. If he completes this new contract, the former Barca and Bayern captain will be with Man City for more than a decade. In the past 8 years leading Man City, Pep has won the Premier League 6 times, the Champions League 1 time and many other titles (a total of 18 titles). In 2023, he helped Man City win the treble for the first time in history.
According to The Athletic, Man City's official announcement is expected to be made in the next 24 hours. After that, Pep Guardiola is expected to make an official statement about this new contract. Before this information was spread, there were still predictions that the 53-year-old coach would follow his friend Txiki Begiristain to leave Etihad.
When Txiki Begiristain left the role of Director of Football to the new Hugo Viana, it would have left the club's leadership team a little shaky in management. At a time when the team was in crisis, if Pep continued to say goodbye, Man City might not be able to recover after this season. Therefore, the club's top brass convinced Pep Guardiola to stay to steer the club through the difficult period.
Pep’s extension with Man City does not mean that the team will immediately escape the current crisis because the storm of injuries is still ravaging the dressing room. However, Pep’s determination to stay long-term will help the players’ spirit not to waver. They must return and win many more tournaments before saying goodbye to their coach in the future.
Pep's immediate task, in addition to restoring the form of the mighty Man City, is the hunt for a quality defensive midfielder to replace the seriously injured Rodri. Over the past few years, along with Kevin De Bruyne, Rodri has played an almost irreplaceable role at Man City. Without the current Ballon d'Or winner, The Citizens cannot play well.
In early 2025, Man City will begin to face another storm, that is 115 allegations of financial fraud. Before the verdict was set, many predicted that Pep would finish this season and then leave to avoid having to face what could be the biggest crisis in Man City's history in the Premier League.
However, this great strategist has chosen to stay. This may come from the fact that Pep and his team have detected some "positive" signals that Man City will temporarily not have to suffer harsh punishments (if any) from the court in this scandal. It is difficult to imagine the prospect that Man City will be acquitted of all 115 charges, but that does not mean that the team will have to suffer disasters such as relegation or stripping of the championship as the media has been rumored in recent times.
On the other hand, Pep’s decision to extend his contract by 1+1 years could also be due to his foresight of Man City’s turbulent future. If the Citizens are punished, he will stay for another year to lead the team and hand over to his successor, then choose not to activate the option to extend and leave with the greatest respect. That’s not a bad scenario either.
