Star striker Erling Haaland was one of the first to express his joy about Pep Guardiola’s contract extension at Manchester City. “I’m super happy,” said Haaland on Sky Sports and enthused: “He’s the best coach in the world. He is probably the best coach that has ever existed anywhere in the world.” You hear superlatives like this more often in the east of Manchester, where City is based.
The 53-year-old Guardiola now wants to stay with the Citizens until mid-2027. There is great relief around the Etihad Stadium. Because the extension of his expiring contract took so long, many feared that the trophy collector’s era would come to an end next summer after nine years. In fact, Guardiola himself had already had his departure in mind.
“I’ll be honest, I thought this (season) would be the last,” the coach admitted in an interview on the club website. Why the U-turn? “I felt like I couldn’t walk, it’s that simple. Don’t ask me why.” However, he suggested that the recent negative series – with four competitive defeats, the longest of his coaching career – could have played a role. “Maybe the four defeats were the reason for it.” (dpa/hua)
