Pep Guardiola signs two-year contract extension at Man City

Catalan’s new deal means he will stay at City for a decade

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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has signed a new two-year contract, the Premier League champions have announced. His previous deal had been due to expire at the end of this season.
The news is a huge boost to City and a blow to their rivals given the stranglehold the Catalan has wielded over the Premier League since arriving in Manchester in 2016.
Guardiola’s past two contract extensions with City came in November 2020 and November 2022, so this has traditionally been the time of year when he makes a decision on his future.
City became the first English club to win four consecutive league titles last season – their sixth in the past seven years under Guardiola – and, in 2022-23, only the second side to win the treble of Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup, after Manchester United in 1998-99.
The announcement made on Thursday evening means that Guardiola will remain at the Etihad Stadium until at least 2026 –a decade at the club.
Guardiola said: “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.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – the owner, the chairman Khaldoon (Al Mubarak), Ferran (Soriano), Txiki (Begiristain), the players and of course the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much. Hopefully now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Guardiola, 53, is set to lose a key ally at the end of the season when Txiki Begiristain steps down as director of football, with Hugo Viana, from Portuguese club Sporting, due to replace him.
But Guardiola had long known this was likely to be Begiristain’s last season with City and that situation is understood to have had little bearing over his own future.
Guardiola spent four seasons in charge of Barcelona before enjoying a sabbatical and then taking over at Bayern Munich, where he spent three years. He is in his ninth season as City manager.
City are second in the Premier League, five points behind Liverpool, and have lost their past four games in all competitions, their worst run of defeats during Guardiola’s reign, in what has been an injury-plagued period. They are due to face Tottenham Hotspur at the Etihad on Saturday.
However, Guardiola extending his stay is a boost to the players, staff and supporters at a time when City are embroiled in a bitter legal battle with the Premier League, which has charged them with more than 115 alleged breaches of its rules.
City, who have denied any wrongdoing, could face a range of sanctions if found guilty.
What Pep Guardiola’s new contract means
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