Guardiola agrees one-year extension at Man City

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has agreed a one-year contract extension.

Although City are refusing to comment on a story that was first reported in The Athletic, multiple sources have confirmed Guardiola has elected to sign a new deal to take his stay at the club to 10 years.

The 53-year-old Spaniard joined City in 2016 and has won 18 trophies so far, including six Premier League titles.

His contract had been due to expire at the end of the current season. There have been suggestions the new agreement will have the option of a second year, although this is not known at this stage.

During his time in Manchester, Guardiola has helped City become just the second English men's team to win the Treble - the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League in the same season.

They have also become the first men's team to win four successive English top-flight titles and to achieve 100 Premier League points in a single campaign.

City sit second in this season's Premier League, five points behind leaders Liverpool, and are on a run of four successive defeats across all competitions.

This is the first time Guardiola has endured such a streak of losses - excluding shootouts - in his managerial career.

After the most recent - a 2-1 defeat at Brighton - he said: "Maybe after seven years winning six Premier Leagues, maybe one year another team deserve it."

Guardiola has signed extensions in May 2018, November 2020 and November 2022.

Speaking in May after City's historic fourth successive league title, Guardiola said he was "closer to leaving than staying".

Guardiola later said "part of me is leaving" when director of football Txiki Begiristain announced in October that he - a long-time ally - would be moving on from City at the end of the season.

Former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss Guardiola said he wanted to be "really convinced" that any extension of his own stay would be "the best for the club".

The uncertainty over Guardiola’s future has been cited by some as a reason for the team's poor form.

There is also no timescale for the outcome of the disciplinary case brought by the Premier League for the 115 charges against City, which the club deny but could bring a huge sanction if guilt is established. Guardiola has continually backed the club and said critics need to wait for the final decision in the case before rushing to condemn.

He is the longest-serving current manager in the Premier League, after Jurgen Klopp left Liverpool in the summer.

'Energetic Pep ready for more' - analysis

Guillem Balague, European football expert

Guardiola was given an offer of a new contract two months ago but only told City of his decision on Sunday.

He made the Football Association wait for two months when an approach was made about whether he had an interest in the England job and he wasn't convinced about that - or even staying at City - because he did not know what his lifestyle was going to be.

That was the priority. It wasn't about money, it wasn't about a sporting decision. It was 'what do I want to do with my life because my family are not here? Do I want to spend another year in Manchester? Do I want to go to the FA and do things at a different pace? Do I want a rest?'

His conclusion was 'I am ready for more'.

He told his very close circle on Sunday and he feels there are things to do and he has the energy for it. The Premier League is very demanding and perhaps in the past couple of years he has been physically at the limit, but he feels this year is extremely difficult with injuries to players and it will be easier next year.

Decisions will have to be made with big names who are coming to the ends of their contracts, and their future - Kevin de Bruyne's contract expires this summer, and Bernardo Silva, John Stones, Kyle Walker and Ederson's current deals run out in 2026 - and he is happy to do them.

For the last month, City have been 90% sure he was going to stay but there was always the doubt.

The decision of Begiristain had nothing to do with Guardiola's future. Begiristain wanted to leave last season but was asked to stay one extra year and help with the transition. But he was ready to go for the next step in his life.

It became clear that Guardiola's demeanour had changed a bit after winning the Champions League. He had won everything. Was there more to win?

But, he has found himself with the energy to continue and he feels he can give one more year.

What has Guardiola achieved at Man City?

The Champions League win with Manchester City in 2023 was Pep Guardiola's third triumph as a manager in the competition

After moving to Manchester from Bayern in 2016, Guardiola went without a trophy in a season for the first time in his career.

Typically, he bounced back in 2017-18 to secure a double. In that campaign, City became the first top-flight English team to reach 100 points in a season with a win at Southampton on the final day. They also won the Carabao Cup.

In the following season, City became the first men's team to win the domestic treble in England, rounded off by an emphatic 6-0 FA Cup final win over Watford.

In 2019-20, the season affected by Covid-19, City won the EFL Cup, but Liverpool beat them to the Premier League title and Guardiola's side suffered Champions League disappointment when they were knocked out in a single-leg quarter-final by Lyon.

City's recent stranglehold on the Premier League began in 2020-21, with Guardiola's side winning their first of a historic four titles in a row, as well as claiming the EFL Cup again. They also reached their first Champions League final but were beaten 1-0 by Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea.

Another top-flight title was secured in 2021-22, with Guardiola becoming the second-most successful manager in Premier League history.

City became only the second men's English team, after rivals Manchester United, to win the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup Treble when they pulled off that feat in 2022-23.

Victory over Inter Milan in Istanbul earned City their first Champions League title.

The triumph in Turkey also ended Guardiola's personal 12-year wait to win the tournament again after claiming two Champions League titles at Barcelona.

The Blues became the first team in English top-flight history to win four titles in a row in 2024, but they missed out on the Double when Manchester United pulled off a surprising win against their rivals in the FA Cup final.

Guardiola started his management career at Barcelona B, winning the Spanish fourth division, before becoming Barcelona boss in 2008.

He won three successive league titles to start his reign, including a Treble with the Copa del Rey and Champions League in 2009.

Guardiola left Barcelona in 2012 and took a one-year sabbatical before joining Bayern, where he won three league titles and two German Cups in three seasons, achievements that served to increase his long-standing appeal to City.