Pep Guardiola arrived to his Friday press conference in a talkative mood, and reinforced thoughts about his future in the game and spoke on changes at Manchester City.
Guardiola, 53, is out of contract with the club this summer, and was linked to the England men’s national team job before the hiring of Thomas Tuchel earlier this week.
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He’s long spoken of his plans to become an international manager one day, and Guardiola acknowledged that’s still in his plans.
Guardiola made clear that he’s not made a decision on whether he’ll stay at City beyond June 2025, adding that the club is yet to put any pressure on him regarding his future.
He also shared thoughts on the exit of director of football and good friend Txiki Begiristain and the loud conversations in the press about whether the England national team should be coached by a “foreigner.”
Pep Guardiola on Manchester City future
Guardiola says he’s still not sure about his Manchester City future. That’s understandable given both the in-season nature of the question and some big looming questions about the 100-plus charges brought by the FA against City.
“I said many times and hopefully all of you don’t ask me anymore, I didn’t take a decision already,” Guardiola said, via Sky Sports. “When I take it I will inform you, for sure, 100 percent. That is why there are no leaks.”
Recent reporting says resolution on the FA charges is expected by the end of the calendar year.
There will be some changes at City, for sure, as Begiristain is leaving after 12 years with the club. Begiristain played with Guardiola at Barcelona and hired the Catalan boss at both Barca and Man City.
“A part of me is leaving,” Guardiola said. “A friend of mine and the architect to create one of the best teams ever at Barcelona and now here. I knew the decision for a long time, a family reason, personal reason. I know how grateful he is for his experience here.
“He will be missed a lot. For the confidence, the trust especially in the bad moments. He makes me incredibly balanced in my job. I’m so energetic when it is going wrong I want to destroy everything and all the time he said, ‘See you tomorrow take a coffee’. He helped me a lot in Barcelona and here. But I have the opinion the club is so solid, incredible structure and families have to move on and the club will move on.”
Begiristain is leaving after the season, so Guardiola will still have his confident and coffee advisor around for some time. As for the future, who knows? He did say he will be there to help if City want his advice regarding his eventual successor.
Pep Guardiola blasts nationality talk
Guardiola was asked about a pervasive topic in English media — whether England should always hire an English manager.
“I know we’re proud where we’re born, where we live but the world is so big and you have to be open minded,” Guardiola said. “I came here to learn from all of you. I came to give what I know but to get a lot.
“Look what happened today all around the world, in the wars, because you believe you are better than the other one. It happens in Russia, Israel, Ukraine, Gaza and all these places in Africa. It’s terrible. Just because we believe we’re better than the other one. And we are not.
“We are who we are, we try to travel, share experiences and meet people and that makes us better.”
His thoughts are not a surprise but also a very good reminder to take a step back when examining thoughts about sports.
