City to offer Guardiola new contract to create Ferguson-style dynasty
Manchester City will hold contract talks with manager Pep Guardiola in the summer as the Citizens aim to build a dynasty to rival that of Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United.
United won eight of the first 11 Premier Leagues titles under Ferguson, and City would like to replicate that dominance, BBC Sport reported.
City beat Tottenham 4-1 on Saturday to extend its record winning run in the Premier League to 16 games and are 11 points clear of United at the top. Guardiola’s contract expires in 2019. Guardiola, who previously coached Barcelona and Bayern Munich, became City manager in the summer of 2016.
In his debut season, the team finished third in the Premier League, was knocked out of the FA Cup in the semifinals and exited both the Champions League and EFL Cup at the last 16 stage.
Chairman Khaldoon al-mubarak described the season as “disappointing”, but the club believes the 46-year-old is now reaping the benefit of that campaign.
As well as topping the Premier League, his team visits Leicester in the EFL Cup quarterfinals on Tuesday, and faces Swiss side FC Basel in the last 16 of the Champions League in February.
BBC Sport has been told the City executives never doubted Guardiola would succeed, even though last season was the first during his career in which he did not win a trophy.
Their feeling is the Spaniard underestimated the intensity of the Premier League and endured intense frustration as he wrestled with what he regards as the greatest challenge of his career.
After Guardiola revamped the playing side of the club at Bayern, City is extremely confident he will stay to continue his impressive work in Manchester.
Whether he is able to bring Champions League success remains to be seen, with City’s best result so far reaching the semifinals in 2016.
But those in power at City have noted with some admiration that Real Madrid has won the competition in three of the past four seasons, and is keeping that aspiration in mind.
Guardiola’s transfer dealings since he became City manager have surprised some, particularly his relatively quick decision Joe Hart was not part of his plans.
The idea the England number one – a veteran of two Premier League-winning campaigns – could not meet the manager’s demands for a ball-playing goalkeeper met with from resistance inside the club.
However, Guardiola’s insistence held sway, though he privately concedes his initial choice to replace him – former Barcelona keeper Claudio Bravo – failed.
The club signed Ederson Moraes – who some in City’s hierarchy were not familiar with – from Benfica for £35 million in the summer.
The Brazilian has conceded just 12 goals in 18 league games while offering a calming presence on the ball.
Another surprise was City’s willingness to spend £47.5 million to prize John Stones from Everton in August 2016, a deal which made the Yorkshireman the second most expensive defender of all time.
Stones struggled initially, and was dropped after a 4-2 defeat at Leicester on December 10.
At the time, the 23-year-old doubted he was capable of meeting the exacting standards Guardiola expects from his central defenders.
The Catalan does not want his defenders to play long balls out of defense, instead demanding they use short passes to rotate possession through the team.
But Stones started 11 of the first 12 Premier League games this season before getting injured against Leicester. Victory over Deportivo La Coruna put Barcelona 11 points clear of Real Madrid going into the Clasico, however Ernesto Valverde doesn’t feel as if victory against the fierce rival will secure the title, especially with Atletico Madrid only six points behind.
On only two previous occasions has the Catalan giant entered a Clasico this far ahead of Los Blancos, but the former Athletic Club coach is refusing to get carried away, Marca reported.
“I don’t think a Clasico victory will give us the title,” he explained in his post-match press conference. “Atletico is only six points behind. “What we know is that this is a long competition, nobody will decide anything at this point.”
Despite not willing to contemplate the wider impact of winning at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, Valverde did make clear that his team is in a comfortable moment ahead of the fixture. “We’re heading into the game happy,” he admitted. “We have a week of preparation left and are confident.
“It’s a tough game against a huge rival, but we’re eager to face them.”
Andres Iniesta’s return to the first team was noted on Sunday, his performance was exceptional as his passing carved the Galician side open all evening long, and the Spanish coach was quick to praise the midfielder.
“What can I say? I’m very lucky to be able to count on him in my team,” he said.
“Today he started in a different position because of Deportivo’s qualities.
“Andres played extremely well in that role.”