'Maybe the four defeats was why' - Guardiola signs new deal

Pep Guardiola has won 18 trophies since joining Manchester City in 2016

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says he could not leave the club after suffering four consecutive defeats for the first time in his coaching career.

Guardiola has signed a two-year contract with City which will keep him at the club until 2027.

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

His contract had been due to expire at the end of the current season, and he signs a new deal on the back of defeats to Tottenham, Brighton, Sporting and Bournemouth.

"I felt I could not leave now. Maybe the four defeats was why," Guardiola told the club's website.

"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."

Guardiola said he is determined to help City "overcome" their current difficult predicament and reach a level where they "are more stable and more consistent" to scale the heights of the past.

"We have to recover that because right now we don't have it and that's the target we have to do," he added.

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

Guardiola also said that being in charge of City "means so much" to him and he has "everything a manager could ever wish for" at the club.

"This is my ninth season here. We have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club," he said.

"Hopefully now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus."

It was reported that Guardiola had agreed a new contract on Wednesday and the club confirmed the news a day later.

'Hunger for success remains insatiable'

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.

"Like every City fan, I am delighted that Pep's journey with Manchester City will continue, allowing his dedication, passion and innovative thinking to continue to shape the landscape of the game," City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak added.

"His hunger for improvement and success remains insatiable and the direct beneficiaries of that will continue to be our players and coaching staff, the culture of our club, and the English game at large."

City are second in this season's Premier League, five points behind leaders Liverpool, with two of those four successive defeats coming in the league.

The Spaniard's new contract comes as City await the outcome of a disciplinary case brought by the Premier League over 115 charges for alleged breaches of league's financial rules, 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 manager in the Premier League, after Jurgen Klopp left Liverpool in the summer.

Analysis - Guardiola's work not yet done

Simon Stone, Chief football news reporter

This is significant news given indications Guardiola was only going to fully commit to an additional year.

Two seasons will take Guardiola to 11 years at the club, which in the current era of managers lasting a dozen games in some instances, feels like a lifetime.

It is also a show of faith by Guardiola in City, with it the potential for huge penalties if the club lose their disciplinary case over the 115 charges.

As a manager, Guardiola will forever be entwined with that great Barcelona side including Lionel Messi that won two Champions Leagues in three seasons and has gone down as one of the greatest of all time.

His achievements at City will not eclipse those. But by the time he is finished, the best manager of his generation will have spent almost three times longer in Manchester. He currently has 18 trophies with City. Few would bet against that number reaching well into the twenties before his work in the city is done.