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Pep Guardiola has agreed to a one-year extension with Manchester City, with an option for another additional year, Sam Lee reported for The Athletic.
Guardiola’s contract was previously set to expire in 2025, and he said last May that he was “closer to leaving than staying” at the end of the deal.
Manchester City hired Guardiola ahead of the 2016-17 season. He has since led the club to six Premier League titles.
Should he take the option on his new deal, Guardiola could now be on track to remain with City through 2027.
The news comes after City lost 2-1 to Brighton on Nov. 9,..
The loss marked the continuation of City’s unprecedented struggles in league play following a loss on Nov. 2 to Bournemouth, which represented the club’s first league defeat in almost a year.
After dropping decisions to Brighton and Bournemouth in Premier League Play, and losing to Tottenham and Sporting Lisbon during the stretch, Manchester City has now lost four straight games across all competitions for the first time since 2006.
This is the first time any Guardiola-managed club has undergone a four-game losing streak, per ESPN. That goes back to 2007, when Guardiola began his managerial career as the head of Barcelona B.
Man City still sits five points back of Liverpool for the Premier League standings lead, and Guardiola said after the Brighton loss that he does not believe the streak because his team is “playing bad.”
Instead Guardiola pointed toward injuries to players including Jack Grealish, Ruben Dias and John Stones, along with the ongoing absences of Oscar Bobb and reigning Ballon d’Or winner Rodri, impacting the team, per ESPN.
Manchester City has lost executive Omar Berrada to Manchester United, and director of football Txiki Begiristain is expected to leave the club at the end of the season, The Athletic’s David Ornstein and Lee reported on October.
The upcoming departure of Begiristain, who played alongside Guardiola at Barcelona, has sparked rumors surrounding the manager’s future with the club as well as City’s ability to remain a Premier League title contender.
Now that Guardiola is on track to remain with the club, City will focus on gaining ground in the Premier League race. League play resumes on Nov. 23 with a home game against the Spurs.