Sources claim Guardiola agrees City deal

Alam Khan - Reporter 07:52 10/05/2015
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  • Guardiola to City?

    Speculation was rife last night that Pep Guardiola has verbally agreed to take charge of Manchester City this summer.

    Guardiola has long been coveted by the Etihad outfit following his trophy-laden four year spell at Barcelona, where he worked closely with City executives Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begiristain.

    And it has now been claimed, by Qatar-based broadcaster beIN Sports, who quoted a source “close to the network”, that Guardiola is in “advanced talks” to quit Bayern Munich and replace Manuel Pellegrini on a £16 million-per year (Dh90.8m) deal.

    Former Man City midfielder Didi Hamann and legendary Bayern and Germany captain Lothar Matthaus also told Sky Germany last night that Guardiola has been in discussions with the Premier League club for the past two months and it is “likely” the 44-year-old will take over this summer.

    Sources close to City have denied the report, suggesting a “tentative agreement”, is true, but it is no secret there has been interest and this news will only fuel the uncertainty over the futures of both managers following campaigns of under-achievement.

    Having targeted a treble, Guardiola’s Bayern side have retained the Bundesliga title, but lost to rivals Borussia Dortmund in the DFB Pokal semi-final and must overcome a 3-0 first-leg deficit to his former club Barcelona on Tuesday if they are to reach the Champions League final.

    A shock 1-0 home league defeat to Augsburg yesterday added to the pressure on Guardiola as he has lost four successive games for the first time in his eight-year managerial career.

    After plotting Premier League and League Cup triumphs, Pellegrini has endured a difficult second season at City, where the club will finish without a major trophy and were dumped out of the Champions League at the last-16 stage by Barcelona.

    They face QPR today as they battle with Arsenal for second spot behind champions Chelsea. City’s board will review the Chilean’s performance at the end of the season and he has one year left on his contract, just as Guardiola has at Bayern.

    But the Abu Dhabi-owned club would no doubt be keen on change if they were given any indication that Guardiola was now willing to move on.

    Bayern could also have a ready made replacement as coach with the highly-rated Jurgen Klopp having already announced he will leave Borussia Dortmund this summer after seven years in charge.

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