Pep Guardiola to negotiate his contract extension at Manchester City next season

Bengaluru, April 2: Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola will negotiate the extension of his contract at the Premier League club only next season. Despite enjoying an unassailable 16-point lead at the top of Premier League and a chance to clinch the PL title at Etihad Stadium in the Manchester Derby next week, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is yet to sign a contract extension with the club. Reportedly, Guardiola wants to assess the club's performance and its hierarchy for another season before committing on a long-term basis.

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City are on course to win the Premier League and are also the favourites to bag the Champions League as well. The blue club of Manchester has already won the Carrabao Cup, after beating Arsenal in the summit clash. Despite the guaranteed silverware this season, Guardiola insists he does not want just the trophies to determine his future at the club. With 18 months remaining on his current contract, Guardiola wants another six months to pass before opening up the negotiations for a contract extension.

City’s hierarchy though remains confident Guardiola will stay beyond his current deal. The Catalan did not discuss an extension when he met Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour last month. According to sources, Guardiola usually waits for the contract to go into its final year before opening up discussions. And he revealed that he stuck to that policy, despite a face-to-face meeting with Mansour and Manchester City chairman Khaldoon al Mubarak in Abu Dhabi.

Asked if his future was brought up, he said: “No - my future is here next season.

“It is good to know the owner, Sheikh Mansour, and it is always nice to see Khaldoon.”

Guardiola has maintained he would only extend his stay at the Etihad if he believed he deserved it.

Guardiola finished the 2016-17 season with no trophy – the only time he has finished a season without silverware. He stated mid-season that the coaching role at City "might be his last team" as manager and stated not winning a trophy, of the four available to City, constituted a "failure". However, in the beginning of this season, he revamped City into an attacking machine and addressed the issues in the defence department.

City can seal the PL title in their next fixture against Manchester United, which comes in between the two-legged Champions League quarter-final against Liverpool, who are the only ones to beat City in the Premier League this season.