Will Guardiola Stay at the Etihad?
Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour is leading a fierce charm offensive to keep Pep Guardiola at the Etihad.
The Abu Dhabi prince welcomed Guardiola into his home during the week for a meeting that was planned before his manager announced that he could leave the club when his contract expires next year. But City will not let the six-time Premier League winner walk away without a fight to
convince him that he still has more to achieve in Manchester.
Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarek has promised to do all that he can to persuade Guardiola to sign an extension that would take his reign to beyond a decade.
City are hoping that the prospect of taking his team to the expanded Club World Cup in the United States next summer will be too tantalising to resist.
Guardiola’s current deal runs out on June 30 - just two weeks before the 32-team tournament’s final is scheduled to take place. If the 53-year-old decides to leave then City would want a new manager in place to prepare for the 2025-26 season.
Guardiola’s decision will not be decided by money - but City are prepared to offer him a significant increase on his current £20million-a-year
wages.
There is a feeling inside the club that director of football Txiki Begiristain will also depart when the Catalan decides to leave - so the Blues could be left with two huge roles to fill.
Guardiola made history when City became the first English club to win four successive league championships last season. They also lifted the Club World Cup and the European Super Cup for the
first time.
Twelve months earlier, City claimed a Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup Treble - and Guardiola admitted that he might find it a struggle to motivate himself after achieving so much during his eight years in Manchester.
City are fighting 115 Premier League allegations of serious fraud charges and a bullish Guardiola vowed last year that he would be more inclined to stay
if a guilty verdict brought the punishment of relegation.
He has had assurances from his bosses that they will prove their innocence in the same way they did two years ago when they were cleared by the Court of Arbitration for Sport after initially being banned by UEFA over FFP breaches.
