Guardiola’s current terms were due to expire at the end of this season; This new deal will take him to a decade in charge of the club he joined in 2016. Few expected at the time that the Spaniard would last longer at the Etihad Stadium than the combined length of his tenures at Barcelona and Bayern Munich. Guardiola, however, has settled in Manchester and enjoyed relentless success, winning six Premier League titles as well as the 2022 Champions League.
For a while, however, it looked like this summer could be the end point for Guardiola. Celebrating a fourth consecutive league win in May, he hinted he was “closer to leaving” than staying, while the departure of director of football and long-time colleague Txiki Begiristain sparked fresh speculation over the manager’s future.
Instead, Guardiola’s appointment, which has yet to be confirmed by City, offers some stability at a turbulent time for the English champions. Off the field they face at least 115 charges of breaching the Premier League’s financial rules, all of which they deny. Dealing with the consequences of this may or may not prove to be one of the great challenges in the career of one of Europe’s most successful coaches.
Immediately there is the question of stopping the worst losing streak of his career. Guardiola had never lost four games in a row in all competitions before the defeat at Brighton on November 9. His team will face Tottenham at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday looking to close a five-point gap on Premier League leaders Liverpool.
