Pep Guardiola has doubled down on his most eyebrow-raising pledge regarding his Manchester City future.
Guardiola ended mounting speculation over his next move by signing a two-year contract extension at the Etihad Stadium that runs until the end of the 2026/27 season.That will mean a staggering 11 years in Manchester — an almost entirely unforeseeable scenario when the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss arrived at City in 2016 and began a relentless pursuit of trophies that currently stands at 18.
However, all of those achievements continue to exist under the cloud of the Premier League's legal case against City. The club that has won the past four English top-flight titles and six of the past seven have been charged with 115 breaches of competition rules, with the most serious allegations relating to giving inaccurate financial information.
When the Premier League charges dropped in February 2023, despite City having being cleared over some similar claims by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) following UEFA's own prosecution in July 2020, Guardiola insisted he would remain in the event of a punishment extending to a points deduction that resulted in relegation or outright expulsion from the league.
Will Pep Guardiola stay if Man City are guilty in 115 case?
The Guardian and The Telegraph reported that there was no relegation clause included in Guardiola's contract extension should matters come to that.
City have publicly and privately remained very confident that their stance will be vindicated once that independent commission releases its findings. Guardiola — as he pointed out at a press conference to preview Saturday's Premier League game against Tottenham — has remained similarly consistent.
"I said that six months ago. You have my interviews here, I said the same," he said, when asked about remaining in post after the 115 verdict.: "Because now I extend the contract you pretend to be, 'oh, how nice is Pep?'.
"I said six months ago, one year ago, every time when all the clubs accuse us to have dfone something wrong. What happens if we get relegated — I will be here. Next year we will come up to the position of the Conference or wherever they will bring us, we are going to come up and come up and come back to the Premier League.
"I knew it then and I feel it now."
Speaking after the charges were announced — preceding City's run to a historic Premier League, FA Cup, and UEFA Champions League treble in 2022/23 — Guardiola invoked City's season in the third tier of English football in 1998/99 and their eventual Division Two playoff final hero Paul Dickov, whose last minute equaliser preceded a penalty shoot-out win over Gillingham at Wembley.
"We will go to the low division, no problem," he said. "We have been there before. We will call back Paul Dickov, Mike Summerbee [the City and England right winger of the 1960s and 70s] and make a good process."
blogpay
Pep Guardiola has doubled down on his most eyebrow-raising pledge regarding his 
The Guardian and The Telegraph reported that there was no relegation clause included in Guardiola's contract extension should matters come to that.
Total Comments: 0