On November 23, 2022, Manchester City proudly announced the extension of Pep Guardiola until June 2025. Very happy, the Spaniard explained his choice to continue the adventure with the Citizens. “It’s not just the Champions League, but I admit that it’s the trophy we want. Of course, my time here wouldn’t be complete without her. This is not the only reason why I extended.”
Since then, Pep Guardiola has managed to win the most prestigious European competition. And what’s next? After achieving the incredible hat-trick last season, will the Catalan still have as much appetite? At the start of the year, the former FC Barcelona coach immediately declared that Skyblues fans should not expect to see their core team repeat such a performance this year.
In the meantime, Manchester City will soon have to take care of the future of their technician. Under contract until June 2025, will Guardiola want to extend? It is impossible today to say this 100%. City offers sporting and financial guarantees (the Spaniard receives around €22 million per season), but Guardiola has already proven in the past that he is ready to let go of a dream team (the Barça of Messi, Xavi, Iniesta for example ) to rest and take on a new challenge.
Guardiola votes for De Zerbi
And the information published this morning by the Telegraph risks getting people talking. According to the English newspaper, Pep Guardiola would like to see Roberto De Zerbi succeed him on the bench at the Etihad Stadium. On May 24, after the draw (1-1) between City and Brighton, the Spaniard reportedly said to a few people: “he’s the next Manchester City manager”. In addition, the Catalan would have praised the tactical notions of the Italian coach of the Seagulls and his club would have indeed ticked the name of the Transalpine (with that of Mikel Arteta) in its list of potential replacements for Guardiola.
Arriving in the Premier League last season, De Zerbi immediately won over everyone with his playing team. He also managed to place Brighton in sixth place in the rankings. Result: the English club qualified for the European Cup for the first time in its history. Under contract until 2026, Roberto De Zerbi continues to see his rating skyrocket and Brighton knows that it will be very complicated to retain him in the medium term.
