- Safiu Kehinde
Manchester City’s manager, Pep Guardiola, has pledged to remain at the club even if it were to face relegation from the Premier League over alleged breaches of financial rules.
Guardiola made the pledge in an interview on Friday.
The Spanish gaffer who has won six Premier League titles in the past seven years with City, signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday, committing him to the English champions till 2027.
“I said that six months ago, one year ago when all the clubs accuse us of doing something wrong. If we get relegated, I will be here,” Guardiola said at his pre-match press conference ahead of Tottenham’s visit on Saturday.
“If they send us to the Conference (fifth tier) we will come up and up and come back to the Premier League. I knew it then and I feel it now.” He said.
Meanwhile, a hearing into the Premier League’s 115 charges against City has been ongoing for several weeks, with a verdict expected before the end of the season.
While the club have strongly denied any financial wrongdoing, they, however, face a severe points penalty if found guilty of some or all the charges.
Guardiola’s decision to extend his deal is also a boost during a rare period of on-field turmoil.
On the shocking drop in form of the Premier League defending champions, which saw Man City lost four consecutive matches for the first time in the Spaniard’s managerial career, Guardiola hits back at critics.
The 53-year-old pointed to their success in becoming the first side to ever win four English top-flight titles in a row.
“You’re able to lose four games in a row, but at the same time you’re able to win four Premier Leagues in a row.
“When you are here for nine years, with a long time at one club, you live all the scenarios, all the situations,
“The difference is that most of the teams are able to lose four games in a row in different competitions but just one team won four Premier Leagues in a row.” Guardiola said.
City’s stellar performance at the 2024/2025 season began to nosedive since their League Cup exit to Tottenham.
This would be compounded with Premier League defeats to Bournemouth and Brighton as well as a 4-1 loss at Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League.
All four losses came on the road and Guardiola is hoping for some home comforts when City return to the Etihad Stadium, where they have not been beaten in open play in two years.