Pep Guardiola is close to agreeing a new contract with Manchester City.
The City manager – whose existing contract is set to expire at the end of this season – is set to sign a one-year extension with the option of a further year. Advanced talks between Guardiola and the club have taken place and an announcement could come in the coming days.
The news would be a huge boost for City and a blow to their rivals given the stranglehold the Catalans have had on the Premier League since arriving in Manchester in 2016.
Guardiola’s last two contract extensions with City took place in November 2020 and November 2022, so this is traditionally the time of year when he makes a decision on his future.
City became the first English club to win four consecutive league titles last season – their sixth in the last seven years under Guardiola – and, in 2022-23, only the second team to win the Premier League treble, from the Champions League and the FA Cup. after Manchester United in 1998-99.
If Guardiola – who won 18 trophies in total at City – were to officially extend and stay at the Etihad Stadium until at least 2026, it would mean he would have stayed a decade at the club.
Guardiola, 53, is set to lose a key ally at the end of the season when Txiki Begiristain leaves his post as director of football, and Hugo Viana, of Portuguese club Sporting, is to replace him.
But Guardiola had long known that this would likely be Begiristain’s final season with City and the situation would have had little influence on his own future.
Guardiola spent four seasons in charge of Barcelona before taking a sabbatical and then taking charge of Bayern Munich, where he spent three years. He is in his ninth season in charge of City.
City are second in the Premier League, five points behind Liverpool, and have lost their last four matches in all competitions, their worst losing run under Guardiola, in an injury-plagued period. They are due to face Tottenham Hotspur at the Etihad on Saturday.
However, the prospect of Guardiola extending his stay, first reported by Athleticswould come as a significant boost for players, staff and supporters at a time when City are embroiled in a bitter legal battle with the Premier League, which has accused them of more than 115 alleged breaches of its rules.
City, who have denied any wrongdoing, could face a range of sanctions if found guilty.