Romano admits ‘concrete chance’ Guardiola ‘leaves Man City’ as Barcelona ‘do everything’ to lure him
According to Fabrizio Romano, there is a “concrete chance” Pep Guardiola will leave Manchester City next summer as Barcelona prepare to ‘do everything’ to hire him.
There has been lots of speculation surrounding the future of Guardiola after guiding Man City to a fourth Premier League title in a row, the first time a club has managed such a feat in England’s top flight.
During the Citizens’ title celebrations, the Spanish manager admitted that he is “closer to leaving than staying”.
His contract expires at the end of 2024/25 and it has been reported that is when he will leave the Premier League champions, giving everyone else a chance to win the bloody league.
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Reports in Spain suggest that Guardiola will say ‘goodbye to Man City’ in 2025 as Barcelona ‘will do everything’ to bring the 53-year-old back to Camp Nou.
Furthermore, Guardiola’s mind has been made up ‘for a long time’ with a departure next year already decided.
Man City manager Guardiola ‘not discussing new contract’ beyond 2025
As expected, Fabrizio Romano has chimed in, saying what he thinks about the rumours Pep will be waving goodbye to Man City in a year.
Writing in his CaughtOffside column, Romano has said “there is a concrete chance” he will be off “at the end of next season”.
“Pep Guardiola after winning the Premier League with Manchester City admitted that he’s closer to leaving than to staying when his current contract expires in 2025,” he wrote.
“Guardiola will 100% stay until 2025 – he wants to stay there and win the Champions League again, so he will also be in the conversations about the summer transfer window at City.
“For sure, Guardiola will be at City for one more season, but after that the future is absolutely open. The reality is that he is not discussing a new contract with City at the moment – the situation is really quiet, they are very happy together, and Guardiola’s full focus is on next season, but not beyond.
“Probably in 2025 they will discuss the future together, but as things stand there is a concrete chance to see Pep leaving the Etihad Stadium at the end of next season.”
Strong chance Ederson leaves Man City this summer – Romano
Romano also discussed the future of goalkeeper Ederson after revealing this week that he could leave the club amidst interest from the Saudi Pro League.
Diving deeper into his own story, Romano says there is also a “concrete chance” he moves in the summer transfer window, with lots of goalkeepers likely to be on the move.
“Another story to watch with City could be the future of Ederson,” he added. “There is, from what I’m hearing, a concrete chance for the Brazilian goalkeeper to leave City in the summer transfer window. There is interest from Saudi and other clubs, so we could see some movement in the goalkeeper market this summer.
“We’ll have to see what happens with the likes of Jan Oblak, Aaron Ramsdale and Bento, and it looks like Ederson could also be part of this domino. Man City will leave it to the player, they are aware of Saudi interest and won’t stand in his way.
“Man City are considering moving for another goalkeeper in the summer, and also they have Stefan Ortega at the club and he’s been fantastic, always very special whenever he plays, like that save against Son Heung-min that made such a big difference in the title race.
“In terms of a replacement, I personally think the best fit for them could be Ortega, who is already at the club. He’s shown he’s a fantastic goalkeeper and in my opinion he’s ready to be their first choice.”
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