‘Maybe the four defeats were the reason’ – Pep Guardiola pens new contract with Premier League champions Man City

Pep Guardiola suggested Manchester City’s recent struggles were behind his decision to sign a new contract. The Spaniard’s stay at the Etihad Stadium will go beyond a decade after the Premier League champions confirmed on Thursday that he has extended his deal to 2027. AFPGuardiola has brought unprecedented success to City following his arrival in 2016[/caption] Guardiola has delivered huge success during his time in Manchester – which began in 2016 – with 18 trophies in all. But his new contract comes at a time when City have suffered four consecutive defeats – two in the Premier League, one in the Champions League and one in the Carabao Cup. “Now I cannot leave,” he said in an interview on the club’s website, as his new deal was announced. “Maybe the four defeats were the reason why I felt I cannot leave. “I think we deserve, after four defeats in a row, to bounce back and try to turn the situation. I think we deserve to be here. I am not arrogant to say, but it’s the truth.” It will be a two-year extension worth around £20million-a-year, taking him to 2027 and 11 years in charge of the club. Last month, Guardiola claimed ‘part of me is leaving’ after is was revealed that sporting director Txiki Begiristain will depart the club. Speculation over whether or not he’d call time on his stint at the Etihad Stadium only increased as a result, and he himself has admitted he gave serious thought to walking away next summer. “Since the beginning of the season I was thinking a lot in the moment, I will be honest, I thought (the season) should be the last one,” he said. “But in the same moment the situation comes, the problems we have in the last month, I felt now was not the time to leave. I don’t want to let the club down, I would say. “I felt the confidence from the chairman (Khaldoon Al Mubarak) and Txiki (Begiristain) and everyone, and I had the feeling I have to do it.” Guardiola led City to become just the second English men’s team to win the treble – the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League – in the same seasonGetty Reacting to the news that Guardiola had agreed the contract earlier in the week, former Man City defender Danny Mills said on talkSPORT: “This is very important because I’ve said previously on this show and several others. I think that little bit of uncertainty creeps into the players. “They’re not quite sure if he’s going to stay not quite sure if they’ll be wanted at the end of the season by another manager if they come in and sometimes that just that little bit of discord can mean that you drop 5 per cent, you know, and I think that’s what’s happened to Manchester City. “You know, teams will argue. we saw it the first time when Sir Alex Ferguson said he was going to retire. They dropped off massively. I know the second time around he managed to get over the line. “Under Jurgen Klopp and we had a Liverpool fan texting, ringing the other week and say oh Liverpool were five points clear and they finished nine points behind City after Klopp decided that he was leaving. “It does have an effect, you know, simple as that if your manager says he’s leaving at the end of the season. “They’ve only lost two Premier League games recently. Obviously other ones have been, you know in the Cup and the Champions League, so the league is still there for them. “I think now this could be the little bit of a shot in the arm that they need to get to get their mojo back to get back into the mould, you know start winning games and challenge to try and win that fifth in a row.” Guardiola joined City in the summer of 2016 after glittering spells at Barcelona and Bayern Munich, winning six league titles across the two clubs. Guardiola guided the club to third in his debut Premier League season but then won back-to-back titles in 2018 and 2019. City fell off the pace in the 2019/20 campaign as rivals Liverpool were crowned champions but this only inspired a meteoric comeback. City have made a sloppy start to the season but the news about Guardiola could give their campaign a shot in the armGetty They have won the Premier League title for the last four seasons in a row, the first club to ever do so in the English top flight. Alongside such dominance in the league City won their first ever Champions League title with Guardiola 2023, his third European triumph as manager. They have also lifted the FA Cup on two occasions and the Carabao Cup four times with the 53-year-old across his eight full seasons. UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup success has also followed, meaning City have won every major trophy possible. Guardiola has won 360 of his total 490 matches in charge across all competitions, with his sides scoring a whopping 1,239 goals. Hampered by injury problems, the champions’ form has wavered of late with the team having lost their last four matches in all competitions, the worst run of Guardiola’s career. City a

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Nov 22, 2024 - 04:17

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‘Maybe the four defeats were the reason’ – Pep Guardiola pens new contract with Premier League champions Man City

Pep Guardiola suggested Manchester City’s recent struggles were behind his decision to sign a new contract.

The Spaniard’s stay at the Etihad Stadium will go beyond a decade after the Premier League champions confirmed on Thursday that he has extended his deal to 2027.

Guardiola has brought unprecedented success to City following his arrival in 2016[/caption]

Guardiola has delivered huge success during his time in Manchester – which began in 2016 – with 18 trophies in all.

But his new contract comes at a time when City have suffered four consecutive defeats – two in the Premier League, one in the Champions League and one in the Carabao Cup.

“Now I cannot leave,” he said in an interview on the club’s website, as his new deal was announced. “Maybe the four defeats were the reason why I felt I cannot leave.

“I think we deserve, after four defeats in a row, to bounce back and try to turn the situation. I think we deserve to be here. I am not arrogant to say, but it’s the truth.”

It will be a two-year extension worth around £20million-a-year, taking him to 2027 and 11 years in charge of the club.

Last month, Guardiola claimed ‘part of me is leaving’ after is was revealed that sporting director Txiki Begiristain will depart the club.

Speculation over whether or not he’d call time on his stint at the Etihad Stadium only increased as a result, and he himself has admitted he gave serious thought to walking away next summer.

“Since the beginning of the season I was thinking a lot in the moment, I will be honest, I thought (the season) should be the last one,” he said.

“But in the same moment the situation comes, the problems we have in the last month, I felt now was not the time to leave. I don’t want to let the club down, I would say.

“I felt the confidence from the chairman (Khaldoon Al Mubarak) and Txiki (Begiristain) and everyone, and I had the feeling I have to do it.”

Guardiola led City to become just the second English men’s team to win the treble – the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League – in the same season

Reacting to the news that Guardiola had agreed the contract earlier in the week, former Man City defender Danny Mills said on talkSPORT: “This is very important because I’ve said previously on this show and several others. I think that little bit of uncertainty creeps into the players.

“They’re not quite sure if he’s going to stay not quite sure if they’ll be wanted at the end of the season by another manager if they come in and sometimes that just that little bit of discord can mean that you drop 5 per cent, you know, and I think that’s what’s happened to Manchester City.

“You know, teams will argue. we saw it the first time when Sir Alex Ferguson said he was going to retire. They dropped off massively. I know the second time around he managed to get over the line.

“Under Jurgen Klopp and we had a Liverpool fan texting, ringing the other week and say oh Liverpool were five points clear and they finished nine points behind City after Klopp decided that he was leaving.

“It does have an effect, you know, simple as that if your manager says he’s leaving at the end of the season.

“They’ve only lost two Premier League games recently. Obviously other ones have been, you know in the Cup and the Champions League, so the league is still there for them.

“I think now this could be the little bit of a shot in the arm that they need to get to get their mojo back to get back into the mould, you know start winning games and challenge to try and win that fifth in a row.”

Guardiola joined City in the summer of 2016 after glittering spells at Barcelona and Bayern Munich, winning six league titles across the two clubs.

Guardiola guided the club to third in his debut Premier League season but then won back-to-back titles in 2018 and 2019.

City fell off the pace in the 2019/20 campaign as rivals Liverpool were crowned champions but this only inspired a meteoric comeback.

City have made a sloppy start to the season but the news about Guardiola could give their campaign a shot in the arm

They have won the Premier League title for the last four seasons in a row, the first club to ever do so in the English top flight.

Alongside such dominance in the league City won their first ever Champions League title with Guardiola 2023, his third European triumph as manager.

They have also lifted the FA Cup on two occasions and the Carabao Cup four times with the 53-year-old across his eight full seasons.

UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup success has also followed, meaning City have won every major trophy possible.

Guardiola has won 360 of his total 490 matches in charge across all competitions, with his sides scoring a whopping 1,239 goals.

Hampered by injury problems, the champions’ form has wavered of late with the team having lost their last four matches in all competitions, the worst run of Guardiola’s career.

City are currently second in the Premier League table and five points behind leaders Liverpool.

It has also been a difficult campaign off the field with the club facing 115 charges for alleged breaking of Premier League rules following an investigation into their financial affairs.