Jason Burt
Guardiola agreed a two-year contract in order to solve the multiple problems City face
Graphic of Pep Guardiola, Erling Haaland and Kyle Walker
Guardiola agreed a two-year contract in order to solve the multiple problems City face
There is a powerful reason why Pep Guardiola decided to sign a two-year contract extension at Manchester City rather than the 12 months that was expected a few weeks ago.
Guardiola cannot leave City like this. He already knew that the squad were in need of renewal – and Telegraph Sport can reveal that was already planned to begin over the next year – but the hope was that the manager could navigate through the choppy waters of another demanding season before it happened.
Despite the current run, which has undeniably developed into a crisis, Guardiola still believes he can. But it was always his intention to leave City in a good place for his successor, whenever that happens, and that means extensive work must be carried out to improve the team. Therefore it also needed him to commit for longer.
Rather like when Sir Alex Ferguson chose to stay on for one more season at Manchester United to be champions again, having seen City win the title with that extraordinary Aguero moment in 2012, pipping United on goal difference, Guardiola simply cannot go.
Two more years is therefore a sign. The unprecedented run for Guardiola, which has been followed by that shocking capitulation to draw 3-3 with Feyenoord in the Champions League, leaving the manager scratching his own face and head, such was his anxiety and frustration, led to him signing a new contract.
Manchester City's head coach Pep Guardiola looks on during his side's Champions League match withd Feyenoord at Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England, November 26, 2024
Guardiola sustained a bloody nose during the Feyenoord match but he is determined to fight back Credit: AP/Dave Thompson
These are not the circumstances in which City would have wanted to have Guardiola commit for longer than expected, but they are delighted he has done so. Guardiola signed when that sequence was at four losses, not six, having deliberated right up until he did whether it would be one or two years.
Rare January transfer move planned
It also means the squad renewal will be accelerated with an overhaul beginning in January. City are taking, for them, the highly unusual step of intending to buy in the winter window. Only once before under Guardiola, with Aymeric Laporte in 2018, for a then record £57 million, have the club acquired a player in that month who has immediately gone into the first-team squad.
Now he is keen for them to at least bring in a central midfielder such as Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi – whom Liverpool tried to buy last summer – or possibly Atalanta’s Ederson, to try to plug the gap left by the injured Rodri. There is money available and it would be a surprise if City are not active in the market.
Guardiola believes City have suffered from a perfect storm.
They have left themselves short. Nine players are 30 or over and have been overused. Another three reach that age next year. Guardiola has been loyal and argued that age is only a number but clubs are usually obsessed by age banding – to make sure their squads are not reliant on any one group – and especially when it comes to older players who, like Kevin De Bruyne, inevitably break down or, like Ilkay Gundogan, cannot run as they used to. It is looking increasingly unlikely that De Bruyne will be offered a new deal.
Hindsight is easy but signing only winger Savinho, for £20.9 million, and bringing back 34-year-old Gundogan on a free, while allowing Julian Alvarez to leave, and not replacing him, was simply not adequate. Not given the fixture schedule and demands on elite players such as those at the club. Rodri had warned against player workload – and then tore an anterior cruciate ligament.
Man City have sorely missed Rodri, who ruptured his ACL against Arsenal in September
Man City have sorely missed Rodri, who ruptured his ACL against Arsenal in September Credit: Reuters/Jason Cairnduff
It is not just the Ballon d’Or winner, as important as he is, who is missing. Mateo Kovacic, Rodri’s deputy, and Jeremy Doku are also out. John Stones, De Bruyne and Jack Grealish have struggled for fitness. Almost as vital as Rodri is Ruben Dias and he, too, has been absent. Losing so many central defenders has prevented Guardiola from Plan B: moving Stones or Manuel Akanji into midfield to add much-needed physicality and presence.
Form has deserted several others. Opponents are suddenly going past Kyle Walker, who is also 34, Bernardo Silva is not as dynamic and Erling Haaland is missing chances he was taking earlier in the campaign. Phil Foden is improving but has struggled to reach the heights of last season, when he was footballer of the year.
Foden is not the only one who has found it hard. When City became the first club to win four English league titles in a row Guardiola marvelled at the appetite and desire the players had shown to go again. He was determined to make history and they went with him. With each passing season it surely becomes more difficult for them to go again? Psychologically there is inevitably a drop-off.
Does that also apply to Guardiola? Not so, say those who know him.
Five defeats in a row, the 115 charges, the claim that other clubs are conspiring against City, even the questions over Guardiola himself have fuelled his mood of defiance. Do not forget that Guardiola is a proud Catalan – not a Spaniard – and has always embraced the notion of being an outsider trying to take on the establishment. It is why it was no surprise to hear him declare he would stay even if City are relegated for Financial Fair Play breaches.
That role of the outsider was also a motivation for joining City in the first place – he could easily have been United’s manager – as he wanted to be part of something new. Something that challenged the status quo.
Now comes the crucial bit.
Guardiola as energised as ever
Despite the strange episode in midweek, with the scratches, Guardiola is said to be as energised as ever. And as committed. This is a new situation for him and that, in itself, motivates him to sort it out and prove the doubters wrong. Of particular fascination is the mental fragility his team have shown – how they have collapsed 60 minutes into games – and how he deals with that.
Obviously, the 53-year-old would prefer it not to be like this, and the defeats have hurt him. But he has made up his mind. Once he has done that the attitude is: let’s do it.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola and Kyle Walker during the 4-0 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur
Kyle Walker (second left) and Guardiola discuss in vain how to avoid another capitulation at Spurs Credit: Reuters/Molly Darlington
Guardiola has used an analogy. At present the tide, the rough waters are threatening to engulf City. It means that they need to swim harder than ever, against that tide, to get through this storm, show resilience and then build momentum when their injured players return.
Such is his belief, even if City lose to Liverpool on Sunday and fall 11 points behind the league leaders, Guardiola does not think the title race is over. He might say otherwise in a press conference but there are factors at play that give Guardiola faith that City can still catch up. Everyone knows they have the capability to go on a long run of wins.
And this season, this long and arduous season which culminates in the expanded Club World Cup in the United States, is not just about attempting to win a fifth successive league title. Guardiola is determined to win the Champions League again.
In fact, when he visited Abu Dhabi in the summer as part of City’s delegation led by chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak, to meet owner Sheikh Mansour, Guardiola left the impression that being European champions for a second time might even be his primary target. And it might be. But first the Premier League plight needs sorting.
Players are more likely to sign if Guardiola is there
Two more years provides continuity. Players are more likely to sign if Guardiola is there and will be there for some time. For example, City are increasingly optimistic that their talks with Haaland will result in the striker signing a new contract.
Guardiola staying helps. Details of Haaland’s current deal are disputed and complicated – with various clauses dependent on how far into the contract he is and other factors – but one source has insisted the centre-forward has a clause that allows him to leave City for less money if Guardiola is no longer the manager. If Guardiola stays the fee is higher, although this has never been verified.
Other deals are running out.
After this campaign Ederson, Silva and Stones have a year left. Foden, Dias, Rodri, Grealish, Akanji, Kovacic and Nathan Ake will have just two – traditionally a trigger for negotiations. It appears set to be a big summer for City and maybe the ground was being prepared for the new director of football, Hugo Viana, who succeeds Guardiola’s friend Txiki Begiristain.
Not all those players will stay. But Guardiola will. Before that, though, he is determined to turn things around and make it another memorable season. Who would count against him doing it?
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