Pep Guardiola is overseeing a rebuild after last season’s treble win

Pep Guardiola has indicated that he may decide to continue as manager of Manchester City, when his contract ends in the summer of 2025.

After City defeated Internazionale in the June Champions League final to win the treble the previous season, it was widely believed that Guardiola would leave the team before his current contract expired. A year ago, he signed that contract, even though his close friends and family weren’t sure he would. This came after it was widely assumed that he would not stay longer than the three years that were initially agreed upon when he arrived at City in the summer of 2016.

With Kevin De Bruyne sidelined since the season’s first game due to a hamstring injury and Ilkay Gündogan and Riyad Mahrez departing, Guardiola is transforming City by adding Jérémy Doku, Josko Gvardiol, and Matheus Nunes during the summer transfer window.

When asked if this process might persuade him to stay longer at the club before RB Leipzig’s Champions League visit on Tuesday, Guardiola indicated he was open to the idea. “I have energy. I’m not going to answer,” he said. “One year and a half is a lot of time in football. I arrived here with long hair and look what happened.”

Asked if staying in the same place after his current contract expired was an option, Guardiola said, “Yeah of course, I can leave tomorrow [too]. I would have loved the team that won 100 points [in the 2017-18 season] to stay eternally. At all the clubs this happens.”

Guardiola would be able to carry on an already incredibly successful era at City if he were to reach new terms. They have won five Premier League titles, two FA Cups, four League Cups, the Champions League, and the Super Cup in his seven full seasons at the team.

De Bruyne stated on Sunday that he intends to recover from his hamstring surgery, “close after the new year.”

Asked about this, Guardiola said, “If De Bruyne said ‘January’ it will be January. If he said ‘end of December or the new year’ it will be a happy new year for everyone.”

Mateo Kovacic, Jack Grealish, and Nunes are all question marks for Leipzig’s visit. City, have already joined the German club in qualifying for the round of 16, needs one point to win their group.

Guardiola said, “I’m not optimistic about some people coming back but we will see.”