Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is expected to stand in front of his players in the coming days, microphone in hand, and go full Jordan Belfort. He's not f**king leaving!
As reported by the Athletic, the Catalan will take his tenure up to the decade mark by extending his Manchester City deal until 2026. “Great news for City, bad news for everyone else,” they quite rightly and ominously add, as if dissecting a chancellor's budget that may affect the many more than the few.
It replaces just one question mark at the club with a big, inky full stop – or a semi-colon, if you're assuming that just one more year isn't too much commitment. But City have plenty more uncertainty.
Manchester City are in flux right now - and Pep Guardiola needs to fix it
A man perhaps more influential than Pep himself behind the scenes, director Txiki Begiristain is leaving the club, with Hugo Viana set to become his replacementThe squad, meanwhile, are ageing.
Kyle Walker and Ilkay Gundogan are both 34. A January supplement has been touted for the injured Rodri, while Kevin De Bruyne's successor is strongly rumoured.
And as if that's not enough, the Premier League's ongoing case into Manchester City's alleged breach of 115 rules is still hanging over the club.
Guardiola has always claimed he'd stay with City even if they were relegated – one rumoured outcome from the breaches. Well now, he's put his money where his mouth is.
This new extension means one of two things for either party. Either City are extremely confident they won't be punished so badly that it will put Guardiola in an awkward position – or Guardiola really isn't bothered what league he manages this team in and really is as committed to the cause as he claims in public.
But one thing, ultimately, is true following this new extension: this is his club now. Fully.
With Begiristain leaving and Viana arriving, there was the possibility that City were about to change radically. Guardiola remaining in the hot seat – despite such uncertainty over the club's future – is a sure sign that his influence is stronger than ever.
As much as he's always seemed like the most important cog in City's machine, in the past, Guardiola has signed new deals to solidify his position within City's structure. With everything else going on, the greatest mind in the game has even more power – and that's not a bad thing.
So can we expect Pep to have a little more say over the transfers? Will Viana answer to him more than Txiki ever did? Have City moved away from the ‘head coach’ idea to make Pep more of a ‘manager’?
All will reveal itself in time. But though his role's evolving, Guardiola is still king at Eastlands – and will be even if the castle crumbles to the ground.
