Guardiola ‘wants to leave’ Man City after being ‘forced’ to sign new deal ‘he didn’t want’
Man City boss Pep Guardiola ‘didn’t want’ to sign a new deal at the Etihad Stadium and now ‘wants to leave’ the club, according to reports.
The Citizens are having a season to forget by their high standards with Guardiola’s side currently fourth in the Premier League after 25 matches.
Man City, who have won the Premier League in each of their previous four attempts, are currently 17 points adrift of leaders Liverpool with 13 games to play.
There is little hope that they will come anywhere near winning the league and it’s still very uncertain if they will qualify for the Champions League next season.
Guardiola could not guide Man City past Real Madrid in the Champions League play-off round on Wednesday night and the Citizens hierarchy could be looking at other candidates to take the club forward.
Rumours on Thursday claimed that Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola – who has also been linked with Real Madrid – is ‘on the agenda’ to replace Guardiola if he leaves Man City.
And El Chiringuito journalist Josep Pedrerol has now claimed that Guardiola never wanted to sign a new Man City contract and that the Catalan “wants to leave Manchester”.
Pedrerol said: “Guardiola did not think about Manchester City last summer. He was thinking about the England national team.
“It’s an extension that he didn’t want. It was involuntary, almost forced. He signed because it was the only thing he had.
“He wants to leave Manchester.”
Former Man City midfielder Didi Hamann has questioned whether Guardiola has the energy to oversee a squad rebuild at the Etihad Stadium in the summer.
Speaking ahead of the match against Real Madrid, Hamann told Prime Casino: “If they were to get knocked out, which I think they will, the question will be, is that Guardiola-City era coming to an end?
“Yes, they had a good result at the weekend, but they had the odd good result in the past. They beat Bruges after going behind, which made sure they got into the playoffs.
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“Marmoush is a player, I’ve seen a lot of him. He can get a goal. It’s a brilliant opportunity for him. Sometimes a player like him can galvanise a team, but I think a lot will depend on that game on Wednesday.
“I’ve got to say, Newcastle were a bit disappointing because the game was over before it really started. They were three down in the first 30 minutes. So that was a bit disappointing. And with City at the moment, you don’t really know what you get. That’s something we haven’t said for 10 years.
“But I think the question marks are a lot bigger than the exclamation marks with City at the moment.”
Hamann added: “Things happen if you’re in the play-offs, and if you get drawn against Real Madrid, you know, it’s always a 50-50 game. There’s always a chance you get knocked out.
“I think you’ve got to see the whole picture and obviously where they are in the league. They’re not guaranteed to play Champions League football next season.
“Obviously, fifth place would help dramatically if England were to get it. But when they brought new players in this winter, it takes a lot of energy and also patience to, in a way, create a new team. And the question will be, has Pep got the energy? Because there were times you could see his frustration.
“And that will be the question. Is he the man to take him into that new era or change his team, which Ferguson did? But obviously that was a different time. That was 20 years ago. I’m not too sure.”
