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Rob Dawson, Correspondent
Pep Guardiola signed a new two-year contract to extend his stay as Manchester City boss, the club announced Thursday.
Guardiola, 53, agreed to a deal that will keep him at the Etihad Stadium until 2027. His contract was due to expire at the end of the current campaign.
The extension means Guardiola will celebrate 10 years at City in the summer of 2026, having arrived from Bayern Munich in 2016.
“Since the beginning of the season, I’ve been thinking a lot,” Guardiola said. “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.
“Manchester City means so much to me,” Guardiola said. “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.”
City, according to sources, were concerned Guardiola might step down at the end of the season. His decision to stay is a major boost, particularly with director of football Txiki Begiristain leaving the club in the summer.
Begiristain was instrumental in engineering an era of unprecedented success at the Etihad. He’ll be replaced by Hugo Viana, who will make the move from Sporting Lisbon where he worked with new Manchester United coach Ruben Amorim.
Guardiola is the most successful manager in City’s history, having won 15 major trophies including six Premier League titles and the Champions League. This season, he’s aiming to become the first manager in English football history to win five consecutive top-flight titles.
“It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here,” Guardiola added. “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.”
City, who are on a run of four straight defeats in all competitions for the first time since 2006, sit second in the table, five points behind leaders Liverpool.
“Like every City fan, I am delighted that Pep’s journey with Manchester City will continue; allowing his dedication, passion and innovative thinking to continue to shape the landscape of the game,” City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak said in a statement.
“His hunger for improvement and success remains insatiable and the direct beneficiaries of that will continue to be our players and coaching staff, the culture of our Club, and the English game at large.”
A source told ESPN that Guardiola’s new deal does not contain a break clause, despite the threat of relegation from the Premier League if City are found guilty of breaching the competition’s financial rules. City are facing 115 charges — which they deny — at a hearing in London that began in September.
The hearing is set to conclude in the coming weeks before the independent commission delivers its verdict next year.
