Guardiola leaving Bayern, say reports
Spanish coach linked to Manchester City
BERLIN: Pep Guardiola, strongly linked to a move to the Premier League, has told Bayern Munich he will be leaving the club at the end of the season, German media reported yesterday.
The Spaniard’s three-year contract expires next June and Bayern’s head coach has said he will announce “before Christmas” whether he will extend his stay or leave, with Manchester City among the English sides keen to secure his services.
According to German daily Bild, Guardiola gave his decision to Bayern boss KarlHeinz Rummenigge “last week”.
“Everything points to his leaving,” the paper added.
Kicker suggested his departure was “an open secret”.
The 44-year-old Catalan is in his third year at the helm of the Bavarian giants.
Last month Rummenigge indicated that talks on his future would begin after December 19 “to avoid any Christmas surprise, one way or the other”.
Barcelona daily Sport claimed a month ago that Guardiola had already given his word to former Barca colleagues Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begiristain, now Manchester City’s chief executive and director of football respectively, that he would join them at the Etihad next season.
Bild suggested Guardiola was alive to the danger of out-staying his welcome if he remained at Bayern.
“He is someone who enjoys a challenge. That’s the reason why he joined Bayern in 2013,” the paper said.
Bayern laboured to a 1-0 German Cup win over Darmstadt on Tuesday to book their place in the quarter-finals and keep alive their dreams of winning the treble of Champions League, Bundesliga and cup titles this season.
The Bavarian giants hold a five-point lead in the German league ahead of their final game of 2015 at Hanover 96 tomorrow, but the sense of anticipation is building in the Bayern squad over Guardiola’s impending announcement.
INJURY SETBACK FOR RIBERY
Franck Ribery’s thigh injury is worse than first thought and the Bayern Munich star is set to miss the next eight weeks, according to German magazine Kicker.
The 32-year-old ex-France winger has endured a miserable 2015.
He tore his thigh muscle in Bayern’s Champions League game at Dinamo Zagreb last week, on just his second appearance after nearly nine months out with an ankle injury.
The Bundesliga breaks for four weeks on Sunday and Ribery is expected to be on the sidelines for the next two months, meaning he will miss the restart on Jan 22 when leaders Bayern are at Hamburg.
Kicker claims Ribery’s injury has caused tension between Guardiola and team doctor Volker Braun, who believes the French winger was brought back too early due to a long casualty list.
Bayern have a five-point lead in the table ahead of their final game of 2015 with Arjen Robben, Douglas Costa, Medhi Benatia and David Alaba all out.