Pep hopes to live the dream

City boss wants to create side as iconic as his Barcelona team

PEP Guardiola is motivated to stay longer at City to create a team as iconic as his Barcelona side, according to his closest friend in football.

The Catalan wowed the footballing world a decade ago, winning two Champions League trophies in three years with a team that oozed class.

If they left teams dizzied with the passing carousel that Sir Alex Ferguson could only admire, they were a delight for the neutrals.

Guardiola has recently signed a three-year extension at the Etihad, having achieved a standard in the Premier League never seen before. And according to Domenec Torrent, his assistant of 12 years who has recently taken the reins at sister club, New York City FC, the settled coach is in a perfect position to achieve something special with this City side. “He’s very happy right now.

“I don’t know the future – everything can change in football in one second but he is very happy to live there and his relationship with the owners, Txiki, Ferran and Khaldoon, is amazing,” said Torrent.

“I know he is very happy to live there. Maybe City will be the team Pep is in charge of for longest because he was at Barcelona four years, Bayern three and maybe Manchester five.

“Manchester City right now has a young and quality team. It’s a perfect team to improve and try to create something special – not just in the Premier League but in Europe. It is the right moment. The motivation for Pep is to create something special.”