Pep Guardiola has no intention of quitting Manchester City in near future

Pep Guardiola insists he has no intention of quitting Manchester City in the near future.

The City boss, who is already into his fourth season at the Etihad Stadium, did not stay longer than four years in either of his previous managerial jobs at Barcelona or Bayern Munich.

There have been suggestions in recent weeks he could walk away at the end of the current campaign.

Guardiola has guided City to back-to-back Premier League titles but they currently lie in fourth place, nine points behind leaders Liverpool.

Pep Guardiola

Pep Guardiola left Barcelona after four years in charge with successes including two Champions League titles under his belt (Richard Sellers/PA)

The Spaniard, whose current contract ends in 2021, said: “I want to stay. I don’t have any reasons to move from here.

“I am incredibly satisfied to work with this club, with these players, and if the people think I am going to resign or be sacked for these results and being nine points behind, the people don’t know me.

“I like to be in this challenge, I love to be in this position and if the club wants (me) next season I want to be here, 100 per cent.

“I want to live in this city because I know lovely people here and I want to work and live with them and I want to be here.

“If they decide the results are getting worse, they are going to take a decision, that’s normal. It’s not because I am friends with (director of football) Txiki (Begiristain) that I am going to stay for the rest of my life.

“I am here because I win. If I don’t win I’m in trouble, I know that, but I’m incredibly satisfied to work in this city and with this club and I want to help this club to get better.

“I still enjoy working with these players a lot and I would like to stay longer, if the club wants, I will stay.”

Guardiola, 48, left Barcelona after four years in charge, with successes including two Champions League titles under his belt. He then took a year out before returning to work with Bayern.

With City falling off the pace, it has been suggested Guardiola’s City career could end in a similar time frame.

Guardiola, however, dismisses suggestions that he fizzled out at Barcelona as he won the Copa del Rey, UEFA Super Cup, Spanish Supercup and Club World Cup in his final season.

He said: “The last season in Barca we won four titles. I’m sorry, so it wasn’t bad.

“We didn’t win the league or Champions League but it was good and we played the best football that we had done in Barcelona because we knew each other. That was my feeling.”

Guardiola feels City have still been playing superbly this season but are now having to live up to high standards.

He said: “We are nine points behind, I saw the table. One team won all the games except one draw. That’s one reason.

“The second is we lost some games we didn’t expect. Maybe that’s normal. It happens in the early stage of the season after back-to-back titles.

“If we had not done back-to-back titles, that would not happen, but the football we have is still there.”

FourFourTwo Staff

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