Pep Guardiola set to extend Man City contract

Pep Guardiola is set to sign a one-year contract extension with Manchester City to remain with the Premier League champions until 2026.

Guardiola entered the final year of his deal at the start of the season and there was uncertainty over his future after winning a fourth consecutive league title in May.

But as first reported in The Athletic and confirmed by multiple other sources, he will now ink a one-year extension until the end of the 2025-26 season, with the option of a further year until 2027. Man City are yet to confirm the story but an announcement is expected in the next couple of days.

The 53-year-old was approached by the Football Association over the England job following Gareth Southgate’s resignation and was their top target.

But the FA appointed Thomas Tuchel for the 2026 World Cup and Guardiola, who arrived at City in 2016, will commit to a 10th season in England.

It is set to bring up a decade of management at City, in a spell that has delivered six Premier League titles, two FA Cups, four League Cups and the club’s first Champions League.

Last year, they became the first men’s team to win four successive English top-flight titles and are also the only side to achieve 100 Premier League points in a single campaign.

Guardiola revealed his love for City is “deep in his bones” after supporters unfurled a banner pleading for him to stay last month and his contract extension will provide some stability during a turbulent period off the pitch.

There remains uncertainty surrounding City’s hearing into alleged breaches of the Premier League’s financial regulations, with an outcome expected later this season.

Guardiola has stood by City throughout the process, with the club denying wrongdoing and Guardiola insisting City should be considered innocent until it is proved otherwise.

City currently sit second in the Premier League table, five points behind leaders Liverpool, and are on a run of four successive defeats across all competitions. This is the first time Guardiola has endured such a losing streak – excluding shootouts – in his managerial career.

Meanwhile, Txiki Begiristain, a key figure at City who was instrumental to appointing Guardiola following spells at Barcelona and Bayern Munich, will leave his position as director of football at the end of the season.

Sporting Lisbon’s Hugo Viana has been lined up as Begiristain’s replacement and Guardiola will remain on the touchline. The Catalan previously extended his contract in November 2022, through to the end of the 2024-25 season.