Has Pep Guardiola really agreed to take over at Manchester City?
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Updated 08/10/2015 at 08:10 GMT
In-depth: The latest wave of Pep Guardiola to Manchester City reports started bubbling around the internet on Wednesday evening.
Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola reacts during their Bundesliga match against Borussia Dortmund
Image credit: Reuters
According to Mundo Deportivo, Guardiola will quit Bayern Munich in the summer to embark on a new adventure in the Premier League once Manuel Pellegrini has been dismissed at the Etihad.
The report states that a verbal agreement is in place between the Spaniard and City’s club director of football Txiki Begiristain.
Guardiola’s contract situation has been subject of intense speculation, with the former Barcelona manager only tied to Bayern until next summer.
WHY SHOULD THIS REPORT BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY?
Well, the aforementioned article wasn’t churned out by a low-key reporter. Francesc Aguilar is a respected name in the Spanish media, and a former Ballon d’Or voter – an honour handed out to just one journalist in each European nation.
SO A DEAL IS IN PLACE?
There’s a big difference between saying ‘yes’ and signing an agreement. Talks may have taken place, but it’s hugely unlikely that an actual deal has been struck. Manuel Pellegrini’s new contract at City might be a façade to prevent a season of instability, but would they really dump the Chilean in the summer regardless of results?
The much more likely scenario is that Guardiola tops their wanted list, a list they can dip into should Pellegrini oversee further European disappointment. But if City continue to bob along soundly at the top of the Premier League – and finally reach the latter stages of the Champions League – it would not be overly surprising to see the Chilean see out his contract until 2017.
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Sergio Aguero is congratulated by Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini.
Image credit: Reuters
WHY DOES THE STORY KEEP CROPPING UP?
While he has cantered to consecutive Bundesliga titles, Guardiola has watched his side twice capitulate in the Champions League semi-finals, with his tactics coming under fire. Meanwhile, City have enjoyed domestic success, and yet have struggled to convert that form onto the continental stage.
Chuck in the internal strife from last season – which saw a team doctor of almost 40 years march out of the club in the fall-out – and Guardiola’s reluctance to commit, and it all makes for the perfect story.
WHAT ARE BAYERN SAYING?
Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge will not pressure Guardiola to sign a new deal, but insisted said in quotes on Sport1 that he expected him to stay earlier this week.
I've always said that we would sit down in the second half of 2015, and that leaves us still a few months. There's a lot on the table which is pro-Bayern, and a game like this one [the 5-1 thrashing of Borussia Dortmund] is bound to make the coach happy too.
Those thoughts were echoed by Bayern's honorary president Franz Beckenbauer.
You should never separate what belongs together. It's just a perfect fit. He's very talkative and witty. His training sessions are like a show. His players could get a pass to their team-mates with a blindfold on.
CONCLUSION
Our German office sum up the whole saga rather succinctly: "There’s no new information in the German media. Our feeling? This pops up every month…"
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